Barriers to the provision of community-based mental health services at primary healthcare level in northern Nigeria – A mixed methods study; International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences;
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Date
2021-11-02
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier Publisher: International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences
Abstract
This study examined the barriers associated with the level of community-based mental health services in three selected States in northern Nigeria. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a convenient sample of 191 primary healthcare (PHC) service providers and a purposive sample of 13 primary healthcare system administrators and managers at both State and Local government levels through a WHO/WFMH 10-factor questionnaire and literature-derived guide for in-depth interviews (IDIs). Quantitative data analysis was un dertaken using simple descriptive measures (with the use of IBM Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 23.0) while the qualitative data was thematically analysed to complement the quantitative data. Results show
that in all the study States, poor funding, lack of skilled mental health human resource and inadequate training of available personnel were identified as the major barriers to provision of mental health services at the community level. Socio-cultural factors such as community rejection of the services, stigma and misconceptions were re ported as second-grade barriers. It is concluded that PHC administrators, coordinators and service providers agree that fallouts of policy failure and lack of political will at Federal, State and Local government levels and socio-cultural dynamics constitute barriers to community based mental health services. Efforts towards improving the provision of these services need to focus more on healthcare policy issues and political machinery of the governments while motivating available service providers to increase community psycho-education in their respective centres and host communities. This should be done as short-, medium- and long-term measures.
Description
A Community Mental Health Paper.
This study identified barriers to community-based mental health services in Nigeria, including policy failure and lack of political will (poor funding, lack of skilled mental health human resource and inadequate training of available personnel), and socio-cultural factors (community rejection of the services, stigma and misconceptions). Efforts to improving the provision of these services are highlighted on short-, medium- and long-term measures.
Keywords
Primary healthcare, Community Mental health care service, Barriers, Community health, Nigeria
Citation
Anyebe, E.E., Olisah, V.O., Garba, S.N. Murtala, H.H. and Danjuma, A. (2021). Barriers to the provision of community-based mental health services at primary healthcare level in northern Nigeria – A mixed methods study; International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences; 15