A new project in Chile wants to improve the system for collecting and analyzing information on mental health in emergencies and disasters. The project of the Ministerial Regional Secretariat for Health Bio Bio Region is developing a mobile application for the collection of data in disaster situations, articulated with the information platform of the Ministry of Health of Chile, which may offer integrated information management, for the timely and pertinent response in situations of emergencies or disasters.
The project favors the use of a common language for the protection of the mental health of the population in disaster risk management.
Once the application is created, all the actors linked to the mental health desk in the Bio Bio Region will be trained to use the mobile application, in order to use all the available resources.
The project, one of the winners of the call for proposals for the implementation of IS4H projects promoted by the Pan American Health Organization, is based on the "Model of protection of mental health in disaster risk management" of the Ministry of Health. Health of Chile, published in May 2018. This model is the product of a coordinated effort between State institutions and private organizations that make up the National System of Civil Protection (SNPC). It is expected that the model can be used as a reference for the risk management cycle. The application of this model in emergencies, includes patterns of permanent preparation and actions in the stages of prevention, mitigation and recovery.
The intention is to guide the members of the National Civil Protection System in the design, coordination and implementation of mental health protection actions applicable in Disaster Risk Management, based on a technical reference framework based on evidence and experiences, both national and international.
An essential characteristic of the project is to favor the use of a common language for the protection of the mental health of the population in disaster risk management; Guide the incorporation of the mental health protection component in situations of emergencies and disasters in the planning actions of the SNPC; Promote the development of actions around key strategic axes for the protection of mental health in disaster risk management; and strengthen intersectoral work for the protection of mental health and individual and community resilience during all stages of the risk management cycle.
