Primary outcomes of mhGAP program implementation in higher medical education institutions

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of introducing a course based on the mhGAP program into the curriculum of students at Bogomolets National Medical University, with the aim of improving the quality of primary medical and psychological care, promoting early identification of mental disorders, and justifying the need for implementing similar educational programs in other medical universities.

Materials and Methods: The study involved 340 fifth-year students from Bogomolets National Medical University, who provided consent for the processing of their data. To assess the effectiveness of the course implementation, a survey method was used. Students were asked to complete the questionnaire twice: at the beginning of the course and after its completion. The survey included questions aimed at determining the initial and final level of knowledge about mental, neurological, and substance use disorders, in order to evaluate the learning outcomes of the mhGAP program.

Results: The study results demonstrated a significant improvement in the level of knowledge among medical faculty students regarding mental disorders and methods of primary psychological intervention after completing the five-day course based on the mhGAP program. The increase in the average score from 9.029±2.805 to 13.568±1.594 (p<0.001) confirms the effectiveness of the course in enhancing students' awareness, reducing the variability of results, and ensuring successful material comprehension. These findings underscore the importance of the mhGAP program in preparing medical professionals to work with mental disorders at the primary care level.

Conclusions: The study confirmed the high effectiveness of the mhGAP program in preparing medical specialists to work with patients with mental disorders. The obtained results can be used to implement educational programs in medical universities, which will improve the quality of primary medical and psychological care and contribute to more effective early identification of mental disorders.