Psychological support to healthcare professionals have been prioritized by the Council of Europe following the influx of refugees from Karabakh region in September 2023. Needs assessment exercise has been carried out to identify the phycological needs among refugee healthcare professionals and address them accordingly.
The Council of Europe has designed trainings as part of phycological support activities based on the results of the needs assessment and carries them out in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health of the Republic of Armenia to support the Government of Armenia in their efforts to integrate healthcare professionals from Karabakh region into the healthcare system in Armenia.
On 24-25 August 2024, around 50 refugee healthcare professionals participated in such capacity building parallel session aims at contributing to the improvement of the capacities of professionals in doctor-patient relationships and thereby stimulate professional progress and professional formation., as well as on soft skills on successful public speeches and debates on healthcare topics.
The opening remarks of the event were delivered by Ms Meri Katvalyan, Senior Project Officer of the Project “Protection of Human Rights in Biomedicine II” and Mr. Karen Baziyan, Adviser to the Director of the National Institute of Health of the Republic of Armenia. Both sides noted the need for continues support on the way of social integration of refugee healthcare professionals from Karabakh region in Armenia and prioritized the need for such trainings in that regards.
Capacity-building events were divided into sessions on effective communication on the one hand and effective public speeches on the other hand. The topics on emotional literacy, methods of communication and soft skills on public speaking were touched upon both in theory and practice. As a result of the training sessions, participants acquired tools to address difficulties arising during communication with patients, strengthen the ability to deal with their own complex feelings, and generally improve the doctor-patient communication.
The capacity building event was organised by the Council of Europe as part of its Project on “Protection of Human Rights in Biomedicine II” implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026.
