Special Lecture: "Mass Conflict and Care in War Affected Areas"

Please join us to hear Kaz de Jong address caring for people traumatized by war and conflict. A psychologist with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), he will provide an overview of MSF's twenty years in the field offering mental health services, citing efforts and challenges to combine science and humanitarian action in extreme and complex settings.

Kaz de Jong, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, M.A. Organisational Psychology, B.A. Physiotherapy,is the head of the staff care unit in the medical humanitarian NGOMedecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). This unit addresses psychosocial mental health problems of national and international field staff.

Previously, as a mental health field worker for MSF, he completed assingments in a variety of countries including Bosnia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Sri Lanka. After his field work, he continued as mental health advisor in the public health department of MSF Amsterdam where he was responsible for the quality development of mental health programs addressing the psychosocial consequences of man-made and natural disasters. As member of the MSF crisis team, he has been involved in the management of serious critical incidents.

He wrote the MSF mental health guidelines (2005, 2011), participated in writing the International Standing Committee guidelines of mental health and psychosocial programs (IASC/WHO, 2007), and has authored various scientific publications. His Ph.D. thesis evaluates the development of mental health in emergency operations over the past two decades from a scientific perspective.

The presentation includes an overview on what types of violence populations experience and their consequences in terms of traumatic stress but also psychosocial problems. Based on these experiences an intervention model is explained and illustrated by means of video elements from a program in Sierra Leone. The effectiveness of these interventions is discussed briefly.

Main messages will include Improvement of care in the past two decades; MSF's combination of science and humanitarian action to improve care; Integrated care is essential; and Future developments.

Venue and parking information Frist Hall at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing is located on 21st Avenue South between Edgehill Avenue and Scarritt Place. Visitor parking is available in Wesley Place Garage. VUSN directions and map

RSVP If you plan to attend, we would appreciate your RSVP to ensure sufficient seating for all.Please RSVP here.

VIGH Grand Rounds: Kaz de Jong will be speaking earlier in the day at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health's weekly grand rounds. His presentation, "The Science of Psychosocial Programs," will begin at 11 a.m. in the 8th floor conference room at the 2525 West End Ave. Building.