An Indian meta-analysis has found depressive symptoms in approximately one in two undergraduate medical students. A study of resident doctors and faculty at a tertiary-care hospital found that 30.1 per cent screened positive for depression, 16.7 per cent reported suicidal ideation and more than 90 per cent experienced some level of burnout.Doctors in India have also been reported to face a suicide risk 2.5 times that of the general population.
New Delhi: Six mental health and medical organisations from India and the UK have joined hands to launch a national initiative aimed at making mental health support and help-seeking an integral part of the medical profession.
Also, institutions are being urged to create safer environments for doctors to discuss distress without fear or stigma.
The Humanising Medicine India Initiative, being launched ahead of the World Mental Health Day on October 10, will seek institutional commitments through a proposed ‘Culture of Care Charter’, while also encouraging individual doctors to take a ‘Care for Self Pledge’.
The initiative brings together the India Mental Health Alliance (IMHA), Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), Indian Teachers of Psychiatry (IToP), World Psychiatric Association Zone 15, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, UK; and Accept Support Help Another (ASHA Kerala).
In a statement, the coalition said the initiative will explore the lived experiences of medical professionals, including mental health challenges, disability, distress, caregiving and grief, and address barriers that prevent doctors from seeking help.
“It is a national initiative aimed at fostering a culture in which medical professionals can acknowledge their own lived experiences of mental health challenges, disabilities, distress, caregiving, grief and seek support without fear or stigma,” said Dr Kavita Arora, founding cohort member of IMHA, child and adolescent psychiatrist and co-founder at Children First.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of a significant mental health and well-being burden among medical professionals.
An Indian meta-analysis has found depressive symptoms in approximately one in two undergraduate medical students. A study of resident doctors and faculty at a tertiary-care hospital found that 30.1 per cent screened positive for depression, 16.7 per cent reported suicidal ideation and more than 90 per cent experienced some level of burnout.
Doctors in India have also been reported to face a suicide risk 2.5 times that of the general population.
The organisations said the concern is not limited to the prevalence of distress but also relates to the culture of medicine, where professionals may hesitate to acknowledge vulnerability or seek help because of fears of judgement, stigma or questions about their professional competence.