Recently “InterFamily” has celebrated the second year of its existence. We always be grateful to all of you who helped us at the beginning of the war and who is currently supporting us. At the same time, we are doing our best to become financially independent. We found the surest way to reach this through different international grant projects. We would be obliged if you could provide us with a reference to any other grant projects for Ukraine currently launched in your country.
Since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, we keep on tracking our chronology. Today is the 984th day of the war, which is too long for the people living under the stress of everyday alarms, increasing number of victims and destruction. This situation makes mental health disorders in our target group the most relevant nowadays. At the same time, the number of IDPs arriving to the Transarpathean region is keeping on multiplying and we have to cope with it.
1.The last months of summer and autumn 2024 for the Clinic were tense and filled with different types of activities including exchanging visits with our international professional partners.
2. The creation of a Family Medicine Training Centre may be considered our great latest achievement. The fully equipped Training Centre is actively utilized to train young and experienced doctors, medical and post-graduate students, volunteers, emergency situations specialists, school students, etc. in different training topics.
3. Within the framework of the Ukrainian-British VCE Project and the European international Project ShowUp4Health, a unique educational course “Virtual clinical practices of a family doctor” has been launched. The course is designed for medical students of Uzhhorod National University and other universities of Ukraine (Odesa, Kharkiv, and Bukovyna Medical Institutes). In the conditions of war, in many regions of Ukraine, it is extremely difficult for students to undergo clinical practice in outpatient conditions, because there is always a lack of internship bases. Now students all over Ukraine and from abroad have the opportunity to visit a family doctor virtually.
Currently, such a unique set of devices for virtual clinical practices is available only at the Department of Medical Sciences of the Medical Faculty No. 2 of Uzhhorod National University and the “InterFamily” clinic. At the end of the semester, it is planned to turn to British partners with a request to provide virtual medical devices also to those universities that have demonstrated the greatest activity within the project. This project is not only a new format of education, but also an important step in the implementation of innovative technologies in the training of doctors in Ukraine.
4. Web-based online platform “Evidence based Screening Adviser” we invented some time ago has been updated by our team and became a unique useful tool in our everyday practice to support our doctors in evidence-based screening planning in current absence of state-based program. It helps us to determine the patient’s health level and recommend preventive steps based on evidence.
5. The ongoing war in Ukraine caused massive mental health (MH) disorders, especially among internally displaced persons (IDPs). The “InterFamily” Clinic has accumulated experience in: 1) Improving skills of GPs in mental health management through WHO MhGap Project; 2) In GPs CME training after the WHO program by MhGap national trainers; 3) In mental disorders’ screening and management of vulnerable groups (“MH loop”). Now within the frames of international Project MiMIND we suggest to our partners: 1) Training of GP’s MH management of in Ukrainian and English on evidence –based modules provided by our experienced trainers; 2) Best practice in MH care for vulnerable groups; 3) Screening advisor – web-based program including evidence strategies in main MH disorders’ screening.
6. Due to the occupation and massive missile attacks on Central and Southern Ukraine the number of IDPs is constantly rising. As a result, the population of Uzhhorod increased more than 2 times. “InterFamily” spread its activity by supporting the vulnerable IDPs at the house for elderly people “Family Warmth”. It was a combination of medical care for 20 inhabitants of this house and training for our students and residents in palliative care. Many of the patients are bedridden and mentally disordered. Now our medical students have to come here for mandatory rotation during the family medicine course using the opportunity to work independently and train their skills in management of aged population The Association of the Sister-Cities “Corvallis-Uzhhorod” supported our initiative for the coming year.
