Returning the Debt – Ghanian Diaspora Mental Health Professionals

Year established	2009
Sectors	NHS
Country	Nigeria, Ghana

Overall goals

To improve medical undergraduate and postgraduate teaching on Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychiatry of Intellectual Disabilities

Key UK Colleagues and Partners

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Ghana Mental Health Educators in the Diaspora.

International Partners

Department of Psychiatry University of Ghana Medical School
Kwame Nkrumah University of Technology & Science Medical School

Sustainable development goals

SDG 3 - Good health and well-being
SDG 4 - Quality education

Funding source

Initially funded by the International Organization for Migration but now self-funded.

Project origin

Initially organised by Ghana Mental Health Educators in the Diaspora

Evidence of need

Ghana Mental Health Educators in the Diaspora identified that there was a paucity of Psychiatrists working in Nigeria which had an impact on both undergraduate & postgraduate Psychiatry teaching.

Project areas

Medical Education

Project activities

Teaching in the medical school every 1-2 years.

Changes

Improved awareness of child & adolescent mental health and psychiatric disorders.
Improved awareness intellectual disabilities issues and psychiatric disorders for medical students.
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Intellectual Disabilities postgraduate seminars for Psychiatry trainees.
Improved understanding of some of the gender issues that may stop female doctors from choosing psychiatry as a specialty and reducing the gender bias of psychiatry.

Next steps

Review teaching style and knowledge delivery to make it more relevant to the environment.
Consider ways of furthering post-graduate training.

Challenges

Problems with communication & organisation largely.
Helped by identifying key professionals who can support change.