Tensions in Global Mental Health Implementation: Illustrating the Research-Practice Gap Paradox and the Power and Politics of Universalism, with Luma Samawi
The field of implementation science has yielded considerable evidence to support the sustained uptake of healthcare interventions. Yet, despite the rapid growth of the field, many global health implementation efforts fail to translate this knowledge into practice. This seminar will draw on ongoing doctoral research to illustrate some of the tensions in implementing and scaling up mental health interventions in low-resource settings. Through a brief presentation of field experience and facilitated discussion, it invites a critical reflection on the very nature of implementation evidence and the power and politics involved in universalizing and medicalizing mental health.
Speaker Profile
Luma is a PhD candidate in health systems research at the University of Toronto's Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME). Her research explores the implementation of WHO's flagship mental health program, the mhGAP, drawing on her work experience at WHO in Jordan and the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Luma has a background in psychology, neuroscience, and global mental health, and her academic and professional interests lie at the intersection of global mental health, implementation science, and transcultural psychiatry.
Register below and join us on Wednesday, January 22, at 1:00 p.m. ET
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