A community service doctor’s experiences of mental healthcare provision in rural Eastern Cape

IF 1.2 Q2 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL
D. Rall, Leslie Swartz
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Literature shows that in South Africa there are insufficient resources to meet mental healthcare needs. At general or district hospital level, the non-specialist doctor is often responsible for the holistic assessment and management of mental health service users. Such situations inevitably increase doctors’ care load as they are required to treat across disciplines. We highlight the particular challenges faced by a community service (CS) doctor in this context.Methods: The presented case study formed part of a larger project that investigated public mental healthcare provision in the Eastern Cape province. Data were collected through a once-off semi-structured interview with the participant. The interview was transcribed and data analysed by utilising thematic analysis to yield results.Results: The study suggests that the CS doctor experiences being overloaded with duties, and feels overwhelmed in a healthcare context that lacks resources needed for service provision, which may lead to inadequate mental healthcare provision to public health service users.Conclusion: Healthcare facilities in rural parts of the Eastern Cape province are in need of assistance. This in-depth account highlighted the consequences of working on the front line of a disadvantaged and under-resourced health system. The presented account can be interpreted as a cry for help by CS doctors for relevant authorities to improve access and provision of mental healthcare in the area.Contribution: The paper provides an exploration of the circumstances wherein mental healthcare is provided in rural parts of South Africa.
一名社区服务医生在东开普省农村地区提供心理保健服务的经历
背景:文献资料显示,南非没有足够的资源来满足心理保健需求。在综合医院或地区医院,非专科医生往往负责对精神健康服务使用者进行整体评估和管理。这种情况不可避免地增加了医生的护理负担,因为他们需要跨学科治疗。我们将重点介绍社区服务(CS)医生在这种情况下所面临的特殊挑战:本案例研究是东开普省公共精神卫生保健项目的一部分。数据是通过对参与者进行一次性半结构化访谈收集的。对访谈内容进行了誊写,并利用主题分析法对数据进行了分析,从而得出结果:研究表明,CS 医生的工作负担过重,在缺乏提供服务所需资源的医疗环境中感到力不从心,这可能会导致向公共医疗服务使用者提供的心理医疗服务不足:东开普省农村地区的医疗机构需要援助。这篇深度报道强调了在条件不利、资源不足的医疗系统一线工作的后果。本报告可被理解为 CS 医生向有关当局发出的求救信号,要求改善该地区的精神医疗服务:本文探讨了南非农村地区提供精神医疗保健的情况。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
South African Family Practice
South African Family Practice MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL-
CiteScore
1.50
自引率
20.00%
发文量
79
审稿时长
25 weeks
期刊介绍: South African Family Practice (SAFP) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, which strives to provide primary care physicians and researchers with a broad range of scholarly work in the disciplines of Family Medicine, Primary Health Care, Rural Medicine, District Health and other related fields. SAFP publishes original research, clinical reviews, and pertinent commentary that advance the knowledge base of these disciplines. The content of SAFP is designed to reflect and support further development of the broad basis of these disciplines through original research and critical review of evidence in important clinical areas; as well as to provide practitioners with continuing professional development material.
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