I attended this conference with students from my host institution, and it was really fun listening to their presentations and looking at their research posters. My supervisor was also there, which reminded me that research is always a team effort. I also had the chance to meet many psychiatrists from across India and from other countries, including the United States, Europe, Australia and parts of Africa. Hearing their thoughts and feedback helped me think about new ideas and gaps in my project so I can improve it.
My research for this conference focused on mental health screening tools. Right now, many countries, including India, use tools that were created in Western places, including the United States, Europe and parts of Canada. These tools can be helpful, but they were designed for people who live in very different cultures. India has different languages, family structures, customs,and daily behaviors, so my research argues that India should have its own mental health screening and diagnostic tools made specifically for Indian people.
To support this idea, I studied all the screening tools that already exist in low and middle income countries around the world, including India. What I found was surprising. Very few countries actually have tools made for their own populations. This helped strengthen my argument that countries like India need their own tools so doctors can better understand and help the people for which they care
One important thing I learned is how research is usually shared with the world. First, researchers do their initial work. Next, they present it at a conference like this one. After getting feedback, they improve their research, rewrite their paper and finally publish it.
