The Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, Refudocs Freiburg e.V. and various hospitals and partners in the Ukrainian region of Lviv are improving the psychosocial care of the population by building up the required expertise among the partner hospitals’ nursing, medical, physiotherapy, social work and psychology\/psychotherapy staff. The project’s activities in Ukraine are coordinated by the Ukrainian Catholic University.\r
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Background: \r
The cities of Freiburg and Lviv have been twinned for a long time, and both the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg and Refudocs Freiburg e.V. have been involved in twinning activities. Following the Russian attack on Ukraine, emergency social, financial and medical aid became the main focus of the partnership. \r
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Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian health system has been under immense strain and has faced new challenges, including gaps in the provision of care, especially psychosocial care. Experiences of powerlessness, loss, displacement, destruction and violence often lead to anxiety, depression and sleep disorders and to alcohol and drug addiction among the population. Children and young people, the elderly, women and the roughly eight million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine are particularly at risk.\r
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Activities:\r
-\tProviding advanced training in trauma-informed psychosocial primary care (PPC) and trauma therapy\r
-\tTraining for PPC multipliers\r
-\tEstablishing liaison services that allow hospital staff to seek advice on their patients’ psychosomatic- \r
psychotherapeutic problems\r
-\tSetting up outreach and telemedicine services and using creative methods such as art and music \r
therapy\r
-\tCreating short instructional videos\r
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Results: \r
150 healthcare staff have been trained in primary psychosomatic care and can each care for 18 to 20 patients as part of the PPC service. In addition, 20 trainers are undergoing further PPC training and deliver PPC training courses themselves in their hospitals. Liaison services have been established in all partner hospitals, and a day-care centre for the elderly has been set up. \r
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