Diane Edwards is passionate about children and young people, and ensuring their mental health is as robust as their physical. On assignment in Vanuatu, she’s able to help create better outcomes for the next generation of this beautiful Pacific nation.
In Vanuatu, talented medics attend to the diverse physical health requirements of their young population every day. But what about their mental health needs?
For Diane Edwards, a mental health social worker with decades of experience across both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, one of her greatest challenges on assignment at Vila Central Hospital is to elevate the importance of paediatric mental health. “The mental health resources here at the hospital and in the wider community are very scarce,” begins Diane, from the country’s capital, Port Vila. “It’s a challenge to raise the profile of paediatric mental health when we’re still trying to build that within the adult population.”
But, as Diane puts it, taking “very small steps” to grow the capability of the doctors and nurses at the hospital can reap great rewards.
Diane has been busy establishing paediatric mental health guidelines for Vila Central Hospital, training and mentoring doctors to assess for mental health needs in young patients and providing simple psychological support to children and their families.
She says she’s been amazed at the “motivated and committed people” around her, who are open to learning new skills and widening their practice when meeting young patients and assessing their needs.
And she admits some of the material isn’t easy. “I’m developing child protection and safety guidelines and procedures for nurses and doctors to follow in cases of suspected child abuse in Vanuatu, which has highest level of female child sexual assault in the Pacific,” she says. “Many in the community don’t recognise that children do experience mental health problems, and that they don’t need to be huge problems like psychosis or schizophrenia. They can be responses to natural disasters, like cyclones, or responses to child abuse and trauma.”
Diane says she’s also hoping to establish a social work department at the hospital. “We don’t have a social worker here, and it’s greatly needed in the area, particularly for paediatrics.”
Volunteering in her first role for VSA has been hugely eye-opening for Diane. “Advocating for children’s needs has been one of the biggest highlights for me – and to be able to do so in a country like Vanuatu, which is so under resourced, has been very, very exciting. I think it’s made me reevaluate my values as a social worker, and the things that I took for granted. It’s also helped me to work in a different way with limited resources.”
She’s keen to see more people volunteer within Pacific nations who need support, but cautions that there’s a lot to think about before signing up. “It’s important to make sure that you thoroughly analyse your motivation and commitment to taking on a voluntary assignment and to really make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons. You have to be okay about working in a different way and at a different pace - to change your way of thinking and your way of working. I think if you’re able to do that, you’re going to have an amazing experience that will be life changing for you and hopefully bring some amazing change to the people that you’re working with.”
Published in Vista June 2023