With record number of calls, J&K programme for mental health declared top-ranking initiative among UTs

Help at hand: The phone service has been able to serve many who cannot travel to Srinagar for mental health facilities.
| Photo Credit: Nissar Ahmad

The National Tele Mental Health Programme-J&K, which received the highest record number of 26,743 calls, including 12.04% emergency calls, in the past one year was declared the country’s top-ranking initiative among the Union Territories. 

Dr. V.K Paul, member NITI AYOG, declared it the top-ranking initiative at the Mental Health Conclave on Mental Health Day in New Delhi, on Tuesday.

The recognition has come as a shot in the arm for the initiative in Kashmir where the prevalence of depression is highest in the country, according to studies. According to a study, ‘Life in conflict: Characteristics of Depression in Kashmir’, published by the International Journal of Health Services, the prevalence of depression in Kashmir is 55.72%. The highest is 66.67% in the 15 to 25 age group, followed by 65.33% in the 26 to 35 age group. “In rural areas the prevalence of depression among females is higher (93.10 %) as compared to males (6.8%),” it said.

Dr. Arshad Hussian, nodal officer of the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences- Kashmir and the tele-manas team, described the unprecedented response to the initiative in J&K as an indication of “acceptability among people to initiate a contact with mental health providers on an easy interface”. 

“The current step is expected to ensure cost-and-time-effective and comprehensive services for the poorly served population of the region, strengthening mental health, an area that has been historically neglected in Jammu and Kashmir,” Mr. Hussian, whose paper on the mental health initiative in J&K was published in the medical journal, Lancet, this year, said.  

Bhupinder Kumar, secretary, J&K Health and Medical Education Department, said the initiative has been able to cover a wide range of mental health cases, including anxiety, reduced interest, sleep disturbances and suicidal ideation or attempt.

According to official figures, 12.4% of the total number of 26,743 calls received till this week were “emergency calls”. The highest 53.97% calls were received from women, the official figures suggested. The highest number of calls have been received from Srinagar (4,220 calls) and Baramulla (779 calls) districts.

Tele-manas chatbot

J&K also successfully employed tele-manas chatbot in July for a two-way chat with the mental health counselor on WhatsApp. 

The success of the initiative lies in the interface system that ensures a caller’s safety and privacy through a number of ways. “The caller’s phone number is not accessible to the system and is instead converted into a coded serial number. Second, the conversation is encrypted as call recording is not done. Third, the counsellor on call begins the call with an assurance that the caller’s information and conversation will be kept confidential,” Dr. Qazi Haroon, manager of the Mental Health programme, National Health Mission, said.