Three medical practitioners of Indian origin have shared the top honour in an international essay competition on Post-Natal Depression.
Organised by the London-based ‘The Centre for Applied Research and Evaluation International Foundation’ (Careif) the Competition was open to all individuals, institutions and professional disciplines engaged in issues related to Post-Natal Depression and Culture.
Dr Chandini Prakash, Consultant Psychiatrist (Maternal Mental Health) at the Greenlane Clinical Centre in Auckland and Drs Ramadas and Kumar of Kerala, India shared the first prize in the Competition, whose theme was, ‘The relationship between mothers, their role, culture, social status, economic disposition and Post-Natal Depression in world societies: clues to understanding the origins, presentation and treatment.’
Melissa Harper of Geneva, Switzerland won the second prize for her presentation titled, ‘The relationship between mothers, their role, culture, social status, economic disposition and Postnatal Depression in world societies: Clues to understanding the origins, presentation and treatment.’
According to the independent panel of judges that evaluated the entries, “The essays gave an incisive and synoptic synthesis of the world literature, focusing on improving knowledge about the ethno-aetiology of Post-Natal Depression and its implications for practice.”
Careif Founder & Director Albert Persaud said, “The literature took into account evidence of assessment, recognition and treatment of Post-Natal Depression in diverse cultural contexts, among women from diverse ethnic and cultural groups, and in diverse communities, health and social care settings.
Established as a charity organisation, Careif shares knowledge about mental health to improve people’s wellbeing. This includes how to live healthily and ensure that working practices and services are suited to different cultures and societies across the world.
Chairman Stephen Stansfeld said that the Foundation aims to preserve and protect good mental health, conducting study and research for the public benefit, publishing, and disseminating the useful results.
“Our objective is also to increase awareness of mental health in its local, national and global context amongst professionals, service providers and the public. We also respect the traditions and values of individual societies and cultures around the world and encourage people’s natural creativity and to share with and inspire others,” he said.
Editor’s Note: “Despite our best efforts, we could not obtain by press time the full names and photographs of the winners in India.
