Outcome of capacity building in mental health for well-being volunteers

Volunteering is any activity in which time is given to assist another individual, group, or organization. It assists people who want to get involved in philanthropic programs that help volunteers develop awareness and lead healthier personal and social lives. Several volunteers have received specialized training in the fields in which they volunteer, such as health, mental health, education, or emergency rescue. Volunteers are rendering intervention in different areas in mental health. They are providing psychosocial support to the individuals, groups, community, promoting mental health through conducting various mental health awareness programs in the community. There is a growing concern about mental health in India due to the inaccessibility of services. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) being a premier institute for mental health, is devising innovative approaches to mental health care to reach the unreachable. One such initiative was to build the capacity of volunteers in the community who are interested in working for the cause of mental health.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcome of the well-being volunteer program. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional research design, wherein all the 136 trained well-being volunteers (WBVs) were included as the study sample. The data was collected from the volunteers who attended the WBV program, which was initiated by NIMHANS Centre for Well-being (NCWB) and the Department of Psychiatric Social Work NIMHANS. A questionnaire on the outcome of the Well Being Volunteers program was developed for the study, and the Volunteer Motivation Inventory scale was used to collect the data from the WBVs. SPSS software was used to analyze the data. Ethical clearance was sought from the Institute Ethics Committee of NIMHANS.

The WBV program enhanced volunteers' knowledge of mental health and benefited the volunteers in their personal and social life. They were also able to implement a satisfactory level of mental health-related volunteer activities in the community.

Results of present study and the available literature suggest that engaging in voluntary services improves mental health knowledge. WBV program has provided opportunity to Volunteers to participate in mental health delivery system at different levels.