Managing mental health disorders: Experiences of primary care providers in rural South Africa.

IF 1.7 Q4 PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
Petra J Bouwer, Louis S Jenkins, Johann Schoevers
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Abstract

Background: Mental health disorders are increasing globally. In South Africa, primary healthcare (PHC) services are tasked with mental healthcare, with limited resources. A task-sharing approach between PHC role-players has also been met with barriers, including negative attitudes towards mental health care, organisational constraints and insufficiently trained staff. Aim: To assess the perceptions and experiences of PHC practitioners in managing common mental health disorders. Setting: Primary healthcare facilities in the Garden Route District, South Africa.

Methods: An observational, descriptive study using a cross-sectional survey obtained a representative sample of 130 participants. Redcap© platforms captured data, which were analysed to give frequencies and means using simple descriptive statistics. Results: Most participants (68.46%) reported average or below average competence in managing mental health conditions. Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) (68.42%) and PHC clinics (56.25%) found reaching a referral practitioner to be challenging. Waiting times of referred patients were longer at hospital OPDs and clinics than at Community Day Centres. Conclusion: Resources allocated to PHC mental health services remained inadequate, while available support structures were underutilised. The presence of a dedicated mental health practitioner at a facility had a direct influence on the experience of the staff in managing these disorders. Policy makers and managers should motivate for training in mental health and empower the PHC system to offer acceptable mental health services, in accordance with national and international guidelines. Contribution: This research contributed insights into the current mental health ecosystem in primary care, and the need for increased awareness, training and utilising available resources, which could be useful in similar contexts in sub-Saharan Africa.

管理精神健康障碍:南非农村初级保健提供者的经验。
背景:精神健康障碍在全球范围内呈上升趋势。在南非,初级卫生保健(PHC)服务的任务是精神卫生保健,资源有限。初级保健角色扮演者之间分担任务的做法也遇到了障碍,包括对精神保健的消极态度、组织限制和工作人员培训不足。目的:评估初级保健医生在处理常见精神健康障碍方面的看法和经验。环境:南非花园路地区的初级保健设施。方法:观察性、描述性研究采用横断面调查获得130名参与者的代表性样本。Redcap©平台捕获数据,使用简单的描述性统计分析给出频率和方法。结果:大多数参与者(68.46%)报告了平均或低于平均水平的心理健康状况管理能力。门诊部(opd)(68.42%)和初级保健诊所(56.25%)认为找到转诊医生具有挑战性。转诊病人在医院门诊部和诊所的等待时间比在社区日间中心的等待时间长。结论:分配给初级保健精神卫生服务的资源仍然不足,而现有的支持结构没有得到充分利用。设施中是否有专门的精神保健医生对工作人员处理这些疾病的经验有直接影响。决策者和管理者应鼓励开展精神卫生培训,并授权初级保健系统根据国家和国际准则提供可接受的精神卫生服务。贡献:这项研究有助于深入了解初级保健中目前的精神卫生生态系统,以及提高认识、培训和利用现有资源的必要性,这在撒哈拉以南非洲的类似情况下可能是有用的。
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
CiteScore
3.30
自引率
10.00%
发文量
81
审稿时长
15 weeks
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