MUHS launches mental wellness application, MANAS for 5000 medical students

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about the launch of the Tele-MANAS by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Tele-MANAS aims to provide free tele-mental health services all over the country round the clock, particularly catering to people in remote or under-served areas. A toll-free, 24/7 helpline number (14416) has been set up across the country, allowing callers to select the language of choice for availing services, and the calls would be routed to Tele-MANAS cells in the respective state and union territory. 

According to Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar (retd), vice-chancellor of MUHS and a member of PM-STIAC, MANAS is based on life skills and core psychological process with universal accessibility which is aimed at promoting positive attitude based on wellness. The project is a collective effort of NIMHANS Bengaluru, AFMC Pune and C-DAC Bengaluru. 

Dr Ketaki Bapat, the creator who conceptualized this mission, said that more than 1000 people from different parts of the country have used the application in a pilot mode, following which they received a positive response from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Stating that any kind of research should be constantly upgraded and therefore long-term programmes are required, Dr Bapat said, "That's why we have now decided to take this MANAS programme forward." 

Meanwhile, the MUHS also signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National AIDS Research Institute and National Centre for Cell Science in Pune for three years. 

Also Read:MUHS To Organize Research Competition MUHS Avishkar 2022, details