VOA慢速英语:Zimbabwe’s “Friendship Bench” a Possible Model for Mental Health Treatment

Health workers in Zimbabwe are helping people with mental health problems through a new program.Experts say the treatment could serve as a model for other countries in Africa.
津巴布韦的卫生工作者正通过新项目帮助有心理健康问题的人们。专家们表示该疗法能够作为非洲其他国家的典范。

Doctors estimate that about one quarter of Zimbabweans suffer from depression or anxiety. But there are only 12 psychiatrists in the country of 14 million people. Psychiatrists are doctors who treat mental or emotional problems.
医生估计四分之一的津巴布韦人都患有抑郁症或者焦虑症。但津巴布韦1400万人群中，只有12名心理医生。心理医生主要是治疗心理和情感问题。

The University of Zimbabwe, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and King’s College London worked together to create a new kind of treatment.
津巴布韦大学、 伦敦卫生和热带医学学院以及伦敦国王学院一起努力研制新疗法。

Dr. Victoria Simms works at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
维多利亚·斯密斯医生在伦敦卫生和热带医学学院工作。

“We can’t possibly go the route of training psychiatrists and psychologists because it would take 15 years.How are we going to provide treatment?”
“我们也不一定能够训练精神病学家以及心理学家，因为这需要15年时间。那么我们如何能提供治疗呢？”

So, doctors created a simple but effective program.They placed wooden seats – which they call “Friendship Benches” -- outside several health clinics in the city of Harare.Dr. Simms says people were given the chance to meet on the benches for six sessions with health workers.They call these workers “grandmother health providers.”
因此，医生们设立了一种简单有效的项目。他们在哈拉雷几家卫生诊所外面安置了一些木椅，并将其称作是“友谊之椅”。斯密斯医生表示，人们有机会找健康工作者进行6个疗程的咨询。他们将这些工作人员称作是“祖母健康助手”。

“So the patient explains what all their problems are and its opening up the mind in the sense of allowing the patient to see that they can do something about their problems.”
“因此患者会倾诉自己的问题，敞开心扉，让医生们帮助他们解决问题。”

The Friendship Bench study involved more than 550 patients.After six months, only 14 percent of the patients in the Friendship Bench group said they were still depressed. That compares to 50 percent of those who did not receive treatment. Those who received the treatment were also five times less likely to have suicidal thoughts.
550多名患者参与了“友谊之椅”研究。6个月之后，该组只有14%的患者表示仍然是抑郁。未接受治疗的人群中则有50%的患者表示自己是抑郁的。接受治疗的人有自杀想法的概率比未接受治疗的人少五倍。

Dr. Dixon Chibanda is with the University of Zimbabwe.He is one of the founders of the Friendship Bench program.He told VOA that the program has many benefits.
迪克森·赤阪达在津巴布韦大学工作。他是“友谊之椅”项目的创始人之一。他接受VOA采访的时候表示该项目有很多益处。

“Not only a mental health sort of package, but a package that actually improved outcomes of things like hypertension, diabetes and, and adherence to medication for people living with HIV.”
“该项目不仅仅提升了心理健康水平，实际上还改善了高血压、糖尿病等病带来的后果，并对HIV病毒携带者的寻医问药有很大启发。

Friendship Benches are now placed in 60 clinics in Harare and two other cities.
目前，哈拉雷以及其他两个城市的60家诊所都有“友谊之椅”。

The Canadian government is helping to pay for the program’s expansion through its Grand Challenges Canada aid program.
加拿大政府通过“加拿大大挑战”援助计划为该项目的推广提供资金支持。

Researchers say the program could be a model for mental health efforts in poor areas as well as in wealthier countries.
研究人员表示，该项目可以作为贫穷地区以及较富裕地区心理健康工作的典范。

I’m John Russell.
约翰·拉塞尔为您报道。