Tonga national emergency medical team response to the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption and tsunami: the first deployment of the Tonga Emergency Medical Assistance Team (TEMAT).

Problem: The undersea Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted on 15 January 2022, causing a tsunami that affected Tonga as well as other countries around the Pacific rim. Tonga's international borders were closed at the time due to the coronavirus disease pandemic, but clinical surge support was needed to respond to this disaster.

Context: Tonga's Ministry of Health formed the Tonga Emergency Medical Assistance Team (TEMAT) in 2018 to provide clinical care and public health assistance during disasters, outbreaks and other health emergencies.

WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme implementation in the Small Island Development States: experience from the Pacific and English-speaking Caribbean countries.

Owing to the relatively small population sizes and remoteness of the Small Island Development States (SIDS), their mental health systems face many common difficulties. These include having few mental health specialists per country, limited access to mental health services and low awareness. To overcome these limitations, the World Health Organization (WHO) Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), which aims to decrease the treatment gap by training non-specialists, was implemented in more than 20 Pacific and English-speaking Caribbean countries.

Lessons learned in developing community mental health care in East and South East Asia.

This paper summarizes the findings for the East and South East Asia Region of the WPA Task Force on Steps, Obstacles and Mistakes to Avoid in the Im-plementation of Community Mental Health Care. The paper presents a description of the region, an overview of mental health policies, a critical ap-praisal of community mental health services developed, and a discussion of the key obstacles and challenges. The main recommendations address the needs to campaign to reduce stigma, integrate care within the general health care system, prioritize target groups, strengthen leadership in policy mak-ing, and devise effective funding and economic incentives.

Family support in assertive community treatment: an analysis of client outcomes.

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is an outreach-based case management model that assists people with severe mental illness through an intensive and integrated approach. In this program, a multidisciplinary team provides medical and psychosocial services. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the following two ACT intervention strategies: "replacement" (supporting the clients) versus "backup" (supporting family members who provide care to clients).

[Assertive community treatment in Japan: results of fidelity measurements].

Mental health system reform oriented toward realizing the transition from "institution-based medical treatment" to "community-based care" is now taking place in Japan. Although the number of psychiatric beds is slow to decrease, community resources are increasing, and differentiation of those services is the next challenge. Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a service which provides 24/7 community outreach by a multidisciplinary team to persons with severe mental illness.

Evaluating outcomes of the child and adolescent psychiatric unit: A prospective study.

Background: The aims of this prospective study are to clarify the outcomes of child psychiatric inpatient treatment and to identify factors associated with patient improvement.

Methods: The attending psychiatrist used the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) to assess youths at admission to and discharge from a child and adolescent psychiatric unit in Japan(N = 126, mean age = 12.8, SD = 1.

WPA guidance on steps, obstacles and mistakes to avoid in the implementation of community mental health care.

This paper provides guidance on the steps, obstacles and mistakes to avoid in the implementation of community mental health care. The document is intended to be of practical use and interest to psychiatrists worldwide regarding the development of community mental health care for adults with mental illness. The main recommendations are presented in relation to: the need for coordinated policies, plans and programmes, the requirement to scale up services for whole populations, the importance of promoting community awareness about mental illness to increase levels of help-seeking, the need to establish effective financial and budgetary provisions to directly support services provided in the community.

Development of a clinical pathway for long-term inpatients with schizophrenia.

Clinical pathways have been defined as an optimal sequencing and timing of interventions by staff for a particular diagnosis or procedure, designed to better utilize resources, maximize quality of care and minimize delays. The aim of the present study was to develop a clinical pathway for long-term inpatients with schizophrenia. A review of clinical records was conducted for 17 patients with schizophrenia who had stayed in one psychiatric hospital for >1 year, and who remained in the community >3 months after hospital discharge.

The ongoing development of community mental health services in Japan: utilizing strengths and opportunities.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify opportunities for the development of best practice community mental health care models in Japan using key information extracted from the Asia-Pacific Community Mental Health Development Project, site visits conducted on community mental health models, and discussion on service delivery with mental health leaders in government, clinical services and community.

Conclusion: In terms of hospital-based care, Japan has the highest number of psychiatric beds and highest ratio of beds per capita in the world. Strategies to address the disproportionate balance of mental health service components are clearly needed.

Asian models of excellence in psychiatric care and rehabilitation.

In Asia, like other regions, the circumstances for psychiatric care and rehabilitation impose various limitations on us. However, committed professionals have been creating innovative models of excellence, which are culturally appropriate and clinically effective. In this paper, seven innovative models of psychiatric care and rehabilitation are presented.

Symptom dimensions and needs of care among patients with schizophrenia in hospital and the community.

The purpose of the present paper was to examine the psychiatric symptom dimensions related to needs of care among patients with schizophrenia in hospital and in the community. Subjects were 217 patients with F2 ICD-10 diagnoses. Hospital patients included 102 inpatients (47.