In 2005, at the World Health Organization Mental Health Ministerial conference in Helsinki, Azerbaijan signed the European Declaration on Mental Health with the aim of improving the provision of mental health care and fulfilling obligations to implement legislation in this area. One of the priority issues reflected in the Declaration is the recognition of the main role of the primary health care service (general practitioner) in the field of mental health and the strengthening of its capacity to fulfill the task of ensuring mental health.

On the basis of a two-year Collaboration Agreement between WHO and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan, covering 2008-2009, in order to improve the quality of medical services provided to the population in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Public Health and Reforms Center (PHRC) of the Ministry of Health launched the project "Improving knowledge of mental health among primary care physicians.

On November 4, 2008, during a round table held with the participation of specialists from the Azerbaijan State Advanced Training Institute for Doctors named after A. Aliyev of the Ministry of Health, the Azerbaijan Medical University, the PHRC, psychiatric hospitals, the project was presented by WHO mental health specialist Nargiz Khodjayeva. The purpose and objectives of the project were revealed, and the achievements of foreign experience were discussed at the presentation.

The main goal of the project is to achieve the following goals at the level of the primary health care service:

• improving skills of primary health care doctors in diagnosing and treating mild and moderate mental illnesses;
• improvement of the referral system between primary health care and specialized medical institutions;
• education of students and strengthening of the system of advanced training for general practitioners

To assess the level of existing knowledge of mental health among doctors working in primary health care, a survey questionnaire was developed at the PHRC within the project framework. In February-March 2009 in the Baku city and various regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Sheki, Qakh, Ismayilli, Agdash, Absheron, Siyazan, Devechi, Guba, Khachmas, Masalli and Lankaran) under the organizational and methodological guidance of the PHRC, its employees and employees of the Azerbaijan Medical University conducted this survey among primary health care physicians, the results were analyzed and reflected in the report.

On October 15, 2009, at the round table on the topic “Improving and encouraging the quality of mental health care at the primary health care level”, a discussion on this report was held at the PHRC.

Within this project, for primary health care workers, it was also planned to prepare and apply a training module on integrated mental health services based on the report recommendations. In order to update the curriculum for students and trainees, as well as to develop training materials for primary health care doctors, it was envisaged to involve scientific and professional institutes, and after that, to conduct appropriate trainings in 5 pilot districts.

Taking into account the opinions and recommendations of the heads of the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine of the Azerbaijan Medical University and the Azerbaijan State Advanced Training Institute for Doctors named after A. Aliyev of the Ministry of Health, with involvement of scientific and professional institutions, the curriculum for students and trainees was updated, and training materials for primary healthcare physicians were developed. Training materials for trainers were also prepared.

On November 14-18, 2011, within the framework of the project on “Improving the knowledge of primary health care physicians in the field of mental health”, a training for trainers on the topic of  “Diagnostics and treatment of mental disorders at the level of primary health care” was held at the PHRC. The training was organized with the technical support of WHO and in collaboration with the Health Sector Reform Project Executive Team of the Ministry of Health. The training was attended by the teaching staff of the Departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine of the Azerbaijan Medical University and the Azerbaijan State Advanced Training Institute for Doctors named after A. Aliyev of the Ministry of Health, representatives of the Health Sector Reform Project of the Ministry of Health and the PHRC.

The trained trainers will conduct trainings for primary health care doctors and students on the basis of this module.

As a result, improvements are expected at the primary health care service level in the timely detection of mental health problems cases, the correct assessment of the severity, the provision of the necessary treatment and the referral of people with this problem to appropriate institutions.