Jeonnam Province Operates 'Mental Health and Dementia Mobile Counseling Room' Visiting Island Residents

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 16th that it will operate a visiting "Mental Health and Dementia Mobile Counseling Room" linked with hospital ships for 1,300 residents of 10 uninhabited islands until November.

The mobile counseling room is composed of two teams of 10 specialized personnel from the Jeonnam Regional Mental Health Welfare Center (National Naju Hospital) and the Jeonnam Regional Dementia Center (St. Carollo Hospital).

They provide psychological support for COVID-19, stress measurement, depression screening tests, early dementia screening, and education on dementia and depression prevention.

If depression, cognitive impairment, dementia, or other findings are confirmed through the tests, one-on-one consultations with psychiatrists are conducted on-site, and professional treatment and counseling are supported in connection with local health centers, basic mental health welfare centers, dementia relief centers, and cooperating hospitals.

Since the project started in 2016, 1,640 people on 54 islands in 9 cities and counties have been examined. Among them, about 120 people have been registered as high-risk groups for dementia and mental health and are regularly monitored by the jurisdictional health centers.

This year, starting with Jindo Gasado on the 1st of last month, the counseling room has recently visited Deukryangdo and Jukdo in Goheung.

At the end of this month, it will counsel about 1,300 people on 10 islands including Jindo Daemado, Goheung Yeonhongdo in August, Yeosu Jabongdo, Sogyeongdo, Daehyunggando, and Sinan Uido and Jarado in October.

The operation plan will be flexible, considering the spread of COVID-19 and social distancing measures by city and county.

Kim Youngdoo, Director of Health Promotion Division of Jeonnam Province, said, "We will continue to expand the operation of the mental health and dementia mobile counseling room linked with hospital ships so that residents of 161 uninhabited islands with low medical accessibility are not excluded from the blind spots of mental health welfare."