Howard Liu, MD, chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry, was among the international experts who served on a special Lancet Psychiatry commission on mental health in Ukraine.
As Ukraine continues to fight against Russia’s invasion and feels the impact of other long-term conflicts, the country has suffered incalculable damage and extensive physical and emotional trauma, the commission wrote in the November issue of Lancet Psychiatry.
That has put an immense strain on the health care and mental health care systems, which had been dominated by large psychiatric hospitals and residential institutions, the commission wrote.
This commission convened 40 experts in mental health, health economics and other areas from 12 countries to study the mental health needs in the country and develop a five to 10-year plan for improving Ukraine’s mental health system.
Dr. Liu said he was moved by the dedication of the international team, especially their Ukrainian colleagues who continue to live through “tremendous adversity, loss, displacement and the trauma of war.”
Said Dr. Liu, “They deserve all the credit for their sacrifice and keen sense of purpose as we were envisioning how to preserve psychiatry access via workforce development and flexible training models.”
The World Health Organization called attention to the commission and its work at a global event in October.
Among the many issues that the commission analyzed were psychiatry, the effects of the war on medical education and undergraduate psychiatric education. The commission also concluded that a stronger mental health research system requires development of research infrastructure, a shift in mental health research funding and training of Ukrainian mental health researchers.
The commission called Ukraine’s mental health needs vast but said the plan to improve is manageable, if ambitious.
It concluded: “The commission is convinced that Ukraine is ready and willing to make the necessary changes to meet the standards and join the community of nations providing compassionate and effective mental health-care services for all their citizens.”
Said Dr. Liu, “Mental health is truly a global community, and we can all do our part to address stigma and share resources.”