Background

The Palestinian Ministry of Health, and through funding made available by the World Bank is implementing a strategic project on Early Childhood Development (ECD). The holistic and comprehensive approach to ECD has been ensured through cooperative implementation of the project by the Palestinian Ministry of Education (MOE), Health (MOH) and Social Development (MOSD).

As of 2007, Gaza strip has been subjected to five massive wars and military operations resulting in thousands of deaths, high number of wounded and massive forced displacement. Strict closure of Gaza strip, restriction of mobility of people and goods from and into Gaza resulted in major deterioration of living conditions, high unemployment and poverty.

Health system in Gaza has been severely affected by the military operations and closure. Shortage in medical supplies, equipment and physical infrastructure has been the result of constrained access to goods and materials. Restricted movement of people resulted in deprivation of access to care, especially for those in need for treatment outside the strip and limited the opportunities of health workers receive highly needed training and qualification upgrade to cope with increased demand on services.

Mental health in Gaza strip has been a critically hit area. Direct and indirect exposure to traumatizing events has been massive and has affected almost all the 2 million inhabitants of Gaza strip. Five massive wars launched over Gaza caused a condition of repeated exposure and hence deepened the negative effect of war on the mental health of population.

Combined with lack of training opportunities, increased need and demand for mental health and psychosocial care poses a clear challenge on the healthcare and psychosocial and mental health sector. The recent war on Gaza raised the need for urgent intervention to care for people in need for psychosocial and mental health interventions, and also the need for upgrading the capacity of mental health, psychosocial human resources.

It also raised the need for effective preventive and resilience building interventions to help people deal with stress and enable families early and effectively care for their children in need.

Training program

The Palestinian Ministry of Health conducted a review of needs for addressing mental health and psychosocial challenges in Gaza strip after the recent war. The director of mental health unit at the Ministry of Health, together with key mental health experts in Gaza strip have identified capacity building, material resources and community level interventions as the main domains for action.

Capacity building and training needs identified stem from the severe shortages in human resources available in Gaza within the mental health, psychosocial care and psychiatric care.

Based on this review, five training areas were defined and will form the subject of a large capacity building effort with the objective to create capacity to prevent, detect and treat mental health and psychosocial challenges.

The Palestinian Ministry of health with funding from the World Bank seeks the services of a qualified individual consultant to undertake the implementation of training program in psychiatric assessment, diagnosis and referral of preschool children affected by mental health disorders in Gaza.

 General Description:

A 54-hour training program aims at providing participants with knowledge and skills in detection, diagnosis and referral of cases with psychiatric disorders among children in the preschool age.

Target group:

Mixed group of 20 physicians and nurses representing:  

• Senior mental health practitioners at the community mental health departments at the primary healthcare (MOH, UNRWA)
• Selected staff from pediatric hospitals in Gaza (4 from each hospital)
• At least one staff from MOH in Gaza who could serve as a future trainer

Guiding Intended learning objectives (ILO):

By the end of this training course participants will be able to:

1. Recognize mental health, psychosocial issues affecting children with emphasis on Gaza context
2. Understand the mental health sequences on children of exposure to violence
3. Differentiate between trauma, PTSD and other mental illnesses 
4. Effectively use assessment tools with children in the preschool age.
5. Understand and administer properly use the referral system for cases in need for specialized care.

 Deliverables:

The selected specialized training expert will be expected to provide the following deliverables:

• Detailed training program description, outline with clear and updated intended learning objectives (ILOs), training session schedule and evaluation tools
• Training plan that includes evidence-based training materials and a plan for the practical training component
• Final report on the training, including:
  1. A summary of key areas of strengths and weaknesses identified in both the training content and delivery method, based on participants’ feedback. The administration and reporting of results of pre- and post-surveys would be a plus.
  2. A final, organized compilation of all training materials used, with any suggested improvements to the content based on participants’ feedback
  3. A proposed scale-up plan for the training, including considerations for continuously updating the skills of participants in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.

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Demonstrated technical qualification and experiences (at least 7 years) in psychology and counseling within the health services and community.

At least 7 years of experience in psychiatric assessment and treatment

Proven capacity in training program development, delivery and evaluation with experience in this field

Knowledge in the organization of care within Palestine in the area of psychiatry, mental health and psychosocial support.

Knowledge in principles and concepts of protection and humanitarian response

Experts that meet the requirements should submit an expression of interest to include the following: 

1. A cover letter including the suitability of the candidate (individual) to the required task.
2. A curriculum vitae of expert to be working on the assignment.
3. A technical offer in response to the call for Expert TOR, showing the Expert/s understanding of the assignment and how this can be taken forward. 

The expression of interest package must be submitted to Ministry of Health via email: [email protected], by indicating this title in the e mail subject [Psychiatric Assessment and Treatment in Preschool Children] no later than 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday 31 August 2022.