A multidisciplinary specialized team of highly skilled tutors with clinical experience will conduct online mentoring sessions for the health workforce that deliver therapeutic interventions to people with substance use disorders. The tutors will also organize clinical case discussions using a teaching methodology based on the ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) model.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2022 World Mental Health Report, most societies and most health and social systems neglect mental health and do not provide the care and support people need and deserve; mental health systems and services remain ill-equipped to meet people’s needs. Additionally, rapidly evolving evidence for best practices in the management of challenging health conditions like substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders outpaces the ability of the health workforce to remain current.
Although this initiative has not been implemented yet with the characteristics detailed here, substantial successes have been documented in using the ECHO training model, for instance, in promoting the use of buprenorphine in the treatment of opioid use disorders.
- Form a multidisciplinary group that will implement the project, deliver the tele mentoring program, and coordinate the virtual clinical case discussion sessions.
- The tele mentoring multidisciplinary group will establish work plans with different groups of mentees, considering their needs according to the local circumstances.
- The tele mentoring multidisciplinary group will conduct pre– and post-evaluation of mentees' knowledge and competencies and produce a detailed report based on the obtained results.
- Participants will take part in a global network focused on performing and expanding clinical mentoring.
This initiative aims to enhance countries' progress to meet global targets for improved mental health.
Clinicians who benefit from this innovative teaching strategy will reinforce the health workforce's capacity to deal with substance use disorders and their impactful consequences in the population.
Current State Participation
This initiative is not currently being implemented.
JoseLuis Vazquez-Martínez Senior Program Officer Demand Reduction Unit Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) Organization of American States (OAS) E-mail: JVazquez [at] oas [dot] org (JVazquez[at]oas[dot]org)
