Background Poor mental and physical health is a major disease burden for local communities in India. Rural areas in particular can have limited access to health resources and information. Providing information and training in holistic health helps prevent mental and physical health from deteriorating.

Objective To train and support key people in rural communities in holistic health, providing a local resource to improve holistic health in rural areas.

Programme Description This project is built around a train the trainer model, training key people in rural areas to deliver holistic health workshops to their communities. The training includes basic counselling skills to give trainers the resources and confidence to connect people to help if needed. Held over two days, trainers are provided with resources, ongoing support and additional training as needed.

The Holistic Health Workshop has been designed to be adapted to different groups and can be translated into the local language. A variety of delivery models have been developed including Power Point presentations, role plays and graphics.

The first train the trainer training was delivered in February 2023 in Bengaluru.

Outcomes and Learnings There are currently seven trainers delivering workshops in rural Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumkur and Hirisave.

Training has been delivered to more than 500 people from a variety of organisations including schools, sport academies, workplaces, aged care and mental health care facilities.

Demand for the workshop and train the trainer has resulted in more training being scheduled in Karnataka in 2024 and in Himachal Pradesh in early 2025.

Feedback is guiding further project development.

Implications The project has been designed to be adapted to any area, language, community group, organisation and institution.

Conclusions The project has been developed to provide more health resources in rural communities to help prevent ill health. Initial results confirm both the need for this resource and that the project meets this local need.