Research

## **Poster Presentation at the 2nd Community Mental Health Conference** HCAN presented a project poster at the **2nd Community Mental Health Conference** under the title **“A Community Project under the Theme: Enhancing Mental Health and Support System for Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Child and Youth in Nepal.”** The poster was authored by **Sujan Thapa, Shristi Subedi, and Anisha Chaudhary**, with **Abstract Number 56**. The poster highlighted HCAN’s **Mental Health Enhancement on Deaf Youth (M.H.E.O.D.Y.)** initiative, a community-based mental health project designed to address the emotional, psychological, and social support needs of deaf and hearing-impaired children and youth in Nepal. The presentation emphasized that deaf individuals often face multiple barriers to mental health care, including limited access to deaf-friendly services, stigma, communication barriers, lack of mental health terminology in Nepali Sign Language, and limited understanding of mental health concepts within families and communities. The poster presented M.H.E.O.D.Y. as a pioneering initiative of HCAN that aims to build a more inclusive and supportive mental health system for deaf children and youth. It described the project as being developed with guidance from mental health experts, institutions, and deaf advocates, ensuring that the program is both technically informed and community centered. The key activities presented in the poster included **parental modeling**, **school health programs**, **Deaf Role Model engagement**, **peer network and support system development**, **sign language training**, **health worker training**, **workshops**, **development of tailored IEC materials**, and **digital advocacy**. These activities reflect HCAN’s broader approach of combining awareness, family support, peer support, communication access, and institutional sensitization. The poster also highlighted the expected impact of the project. M.H.E.O.D.Y. aims not only to address mental health challenges among deaf individuals, but also to strengthen family environments that support emotional well-being. Through accessible IEC materials, the project seeks to improve understanding of mental health concepts among deaf children, youth, parents, and communities. It also promotes a more inclusive society where mental health issues affecting deaf individuals can be openly discussed, while advocating for deaf-friendly health institutions and accessible psychiatric services. A major message of the poster was that supporting the mental health of deaf children and youth requires a multi-faceted approach. This includes awareness, communication access, family engagement, peer support, trained interpreters, proper documentation systems, inclusive services, and institutional commitment. The conclusion emphasized that deaf individuals should feel accepted, understood, and supported, and that mental health education must respect their communication needs, emotional development, and lived experiences. Overall, the poster presentation at the conference provided HCAN with an important platform to share its work on deaf-inclusive mental health, advocate for accessible services, and promote the need for stronger support systems for deaf and hearing-impaired children and youth in Nepal.