title: Experience from mental health clinics held during medical service camps in Fiji.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aim to describe the experience and findings of mental health clinics held during medical service camps in the rural settings of Fiji.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive data collated at the end of the medical camps across 2011-2014 are used to highlight the main findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The exposure to mental health assessments and brief interventions at these camps was a validating experience for both individuals and medical students attending the clinics. The most common presentations can be categorised under symptoms of depression, anxiety and relationship problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The accessibility of mental health support services is a challenge in Fiji. Medical service camps can form an important pathway in promoting mental health awareness, especially amongst the rural communities of Fiji, and a useful platform for medical students to acquire some clinical exposure.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Academic Psychologist, Aged Persons Mental Health Services, Eastern Health, Forest Hill, VIC, and; Clinical Psychologist, South Ward, Aged Persons Mental Health Services, Eastern Health, Forest Hill, VIC, and; Clinical Tutor, Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Melbourne University, Parkville, VIC, and; Clinical Associate, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia hemalatha.sivakumaran@easternhealth.org.au.
authors.forename: Hemalatha
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sivakumaran
authors.affiliation: Clinical Director and Consultant Psychiatrist of Aged Persons Mental Health, Eastern Health, Forest Hill, VIC, and; Director of Medical Services, Peter James Centre and Wantirna Health, and; Director of ECT for Eastern Health, Forest Hill, VIC, and; Conjoint Clinical Professor, Deakin University, VIC, and; Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, Monash University, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Kuruvilla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: General Medical Practitioner, Team Leader and Joint Coordinator, Sai Medical Unit of Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Gunu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Naker
authors.affiliation: Consulting Neurosurgeon, Clinical Associate Professor, Australian National University, and; Founder and Joint Coordinator, Sai Medical Unit of Australia, Sydney, NSW, and; Member of the Order of Australia (AM), 2015, Australia.
authors.forename: Kathir
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nadanachandran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005367:Fiji / Q000453:epidemiology; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Fiji; Sai Medical Unit; medical camps; mental health; rural