KINGSTON, Jamaica – Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, is hoping that the implementation of the Problem Management Plus (PM+) programme will result in improved mental health within the population and reduced suicide rates.

PM+ engages faith-based and community leaders to assist people to cope with distress resulting from death of family/friends, financial loss, experience with violence, and natural disasters, among other adversities.

It is being implemented by the health ministry in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Dr Tufton said a Mental Health and Homelessness Task Force report showed that four out of 10 Jamaicans experience some sort of mental instability, such as anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness, at some point in their lives.

“Then we had COVID, which amplified the situation and the manifestations of that is the number of calls that come into our suicide-prevention helpline. Actual suicide rates, year over year, [recorded] almost a 100 per cent increase [from 2021 to 2022], from 30-odd to 60-plus, and 15 up to the end of January. This suggests that we could be seeing a record year again,” he stated.

“So COVID has actually made it worse, and part of the post-COVID analysis has been to identify the problem and to find a way to try to help the population to cope with the problem. Mental health issues are very dominant, which is what this programme helps to address,” Dr Tufton added.

Jamaica has recorded a rise in suicide from 34 in 2021 to 64 in 2022.

The Ministry’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Helpline – 888-NEW-LIFE (888-639-5433) – has also seen an increase in calls to 2,190 last year, up from 1,648 in 2021.

Dr Tufton emphasised the importance of normalising mental health.

“Substance abuse is a big causation factor also [and] what we have to do is to ensure that when you get into that space or that zone, you seek help. In other words, you do not suffer in silence, and this is what this community intervention is about,” Dr Tufton said.

“Because what it means [is] training community leaders, whether they are in the church or the community centres, or just the shopkeeper who is an influencer, and give them the basic rules of helping ordinary people to solve problems and to recognise that they have a problem,” he added.

The minister noted that, under the programme, a training manual has been developed in collaboration with PAHO.

He said community-based groups are being invited to identify individuals who provide some leadership at their level, to become trained to assist persons who need assistance.

Dr Tufton explained that there is a screening process to determine whether these individuals are suitable and then they are subjected to training, over a period, which equips them to solve problems that people have within the community.

“So, it’s really a problem-solving tool. Those persons who are the problem solvers are trained so to do and are certified, based on this sort of international PAHO-driven benchmark approach to solving problems,” he said.

Initially, approximately 120 people were trained under the programme, and the intention is to expand the number.

“So, we train in that group trainers… problem solvers. The trainers will go on to train more; it’s kind of a multiplier impact across the country now. What we plan to do is… we are mapping the country to see some of those problem communities that may need the intervention the quickest.” Dr Tufton said.

He also stated that the ministry will be collaborating with other entities, such as the Ministry of Education and Youth, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Ministry of National Security and Ministry of Justice to create a network of persons who are in the community, who will have the capacity to intervene and to help to resolve some of these issues.

Dr Tufton, in outlining the benefits of having such a programme, said a student who is depressed because of schoolwork, can receive assistance through the initiative, as a guidance counsellor would be provided in a school setting.

“What we try to do is to [have] enough of those persons to be able to help us as our outreach in that community. But we have the experts who you can elevate the problem to if it requires that,” the minister further indicated.

Meanwhile, Dr Tufton expressed the hope that the initiative will aid in lowering suicide rates and improve mental health.

“We have some base data which suggests [an increase in] the numbers of calls coming in and, at the extreme, suicide rates. I really am hoping that we see a reduction in those numbers. We want to cauterise it and bring it down. The issues in our schools, the deviant behaviour – we have to try and get into that,” the minister said.

-JIS