UAE | Health
Women's mental health treatment to be discussed
The first conference to tackle the issue of women's mental health will focus on educating primary health care doctors to properly diagnose women suffering from mental illnesses.
- By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:11 May 6, 2008
Sharjah: The first conference to tackle the issue of women's mental health will focus on educating primary health care doctors to properly diagnose women suffering from mental illnesses.
"Twenty per cent of women in Sharjah suffer from depression, and we aim to encourage these women to approach us so that we can refer them to a specialist," said Dr Sua'ad Hawamdah, Chairperson of the Women Mental Health Campaign.
The three-day campaign will run from May 8 to 10 at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, where workshops will be held to provide more awareness on how to treat patients.
Three phases
The campaign is held under the slogan, "Strengthening Women's Mental Health Across Nationalities in the UAE," and is held under the patronage of Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sup-reme Council for Family Affairs and Wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.
The campaign is divided into three stages, according to Dr Hawamdah.
"First we will make aware the public as well as private and public clinics, then we will hold a symposium for doctors, and finally we will carry out a survey to find out how many women are suffering from depression," she said.
"We are focusing on women living in the UAE, including both nationals and expatriates," said Dr Hawamdah, emphasising that the campaign will focus on depression, anxiety and co-morbidity.
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