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Ngubane NP, Mabandla MV, De Gama BZ. Global perspectives on the traditional approaches used in the treatment of schizophrenia: A systematic review. Asian J Psychiatr 2024; 97:104081. [PMID: 38797088 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Traditional healing considers a holistic approach when diagnosing and treating patients for mental ailments, and is the preferred approach globally. OBJECTIVE This review documented traditional healing approaches for treatment of schizophrenia used in different regions globally. METHODS PICO framework was used to facilitate literature search from Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, Scopus, APA PsycINFO, and Web search. Studies documenting methods of treatment from the perspective of traditional healers, patients and/or caregivers were included and also studies which investigated herbal plants used in traditional healing in vitro and in vivo were included. Review articles, magazine/newspaper articles, editorials, letters, comments/opinion articles, and articles with inaccessible full text were excluded. The risk of bias was assessed using MMAT and SYRCLE tools. University Capacity Development Programme funded this review. RESULTS 74 articles were included, these documented traditional healing practices used in Africa, Asia, America, Europe, and Oceania. Common approach globally was herbal medicine. Other reported methods included faith-based healing, consultation with the ancestors, performing rituals, acupuncture, and music and yoga therapies. Inhumane approaches included starving, beating, cutting and confining patients. In some cases, traditional healing was used as adjunctive treatment. The overall risk of bias for studies in this review was low. CONCLUSION Traditional healing contributes in bridging the treatment gap for schizophrenia in developing countries. However, there is a lack of standardisation of the approaches employed in the different regions, and the safety and effectiveness of some of these approaches remain questionable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ntombifuthi P Ngubane
- Discipline of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa.
| | - Musa V Mabandla
- Discipline of Physiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Brenda Z De Gama
- Discipline of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa
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Ani C, Abdulmalik J. Debate: Involuntary treatment and detention are a necessary part of mental health care - a perspective from low and middle-income countries. Child Adolesc Ment Health 2024; 29:203-205. [PMID: 38485135 DOI: 10.1111/camh.12701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Mental health care is underpinned by human rights. However, certain mental health presentations can be associated with increased risk to self or others. Thus, appropriate and effective care plan to mitigate the risk may include a temporary restriction of the person's human rights. Legal frameworks are required to ensure appropriate safeguards for the affected person, and clarity about boundaries of necessity and proportionality for clinicians. The restriction needs to be proportionate, for the shortest possible period, done in a humane manner, and in a safe environment. Effective early mental interventions can reduce need for human right restrictions by preventing acute escalations in risk-related behaviours. While these principles apply across all regions, we discuss the particular circumstances in low and middle-income countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelius Ani
- Imperial College London, London, UK
- Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Leatherhead, UK
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Renwick L, Pedley R, Johnson I, Bell V, Lovell K, Bee P, Brooks H. Mental health literacy in children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a mixed studies systematic review and narrative synthesis. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2024; 33:961-985. [PMID: 35570227 PMCID: PMC11032284 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-022-01997-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Mental illnesses are the leading cause of disease burden among children and young people (CYP) globally. Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are disproportionately affected. Enhancing mental health literacy (MHL) is one way to combat low levels of help-seeking and effective treatment receipt. We aimed to synthesis evidence about knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of CYP in LMICs about mental illnesses, their treatments and outcomes, evaluating factors that can enhance or impede help-seeking to inform context-specific and developmentally appropriate understandings of MHL. Eight bibliographic databases were searched from inception to July 2020: PsycInfo, EMBASE, Medline (OVID), Scopus, ASSIA (ProQuest), SSCI, SCI (Web of Science) CINAHL PLUS, Social Sciences full text (EBSCO). 58 papers (41 quantitative, 13 qualitative, 4 mixed methods) representing 52 separate studies comprising 36,429 participants with a mean age of 15.3 [10.4-17.4], were appraised and synthesized using narrative synthesis methods. Low levels of recognition and knowledge about mental health problems and illnesses, pervasive levels of stigma and low confidence in professional healthcare services, even when considered a valid treatment option were dominant themes. CYP cited the value of traditional healers and social networks for seeking help. Several important areas were under-researched including the link between specific stigma types and active help-seeking and research is needed to understand more fully the interplay between knowledge, beliefs and attitudes across varied cultural settings. Greater exploration of social networks and the value of collaboration with traditional healers is consistent with promising, yet understudied, areas of community-based MHL interventions combining education and social contact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laoise Renwick
- Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Room 6.304 Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Rebecca Pedley
- Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Room 6.304 Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Isobel Johnson
- Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Room 6.304 Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Vicky Bell
- Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Room 6.304 Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Karina Lovell
- Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Room 6.304 Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Penny Bee
- Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Room 6.304 Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Helen Brooks
- Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Room 6.304 Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
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Baheretibeb Y, Wondimagegn D, Law S. "Trust in God, but tie your donkey": Holy water priest healers' views on collaboration with biomedical mental health services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Transcult Psychiatry 2024; 61:246-259. [PMID: 38314780 PMCID: PMC10943614 DOI: 10.1177/13634615241227681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
This exploratory qualitative study examines holy water priest healers' explanatory models and general treatment approaches toward mental illness, and their views and reflections on a collaborative project between them and biomedical practitioners. The study took place at two holy water treatment sites in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Twelve semi-structured interviews with holy water priest healers found eight notable themes: they held multiple explanatory models of illness, dominated by religious and spiritual understanding; they emphasized spiritual healing and empathic understanding in treatment, and also embraced biomedicine as part of an eclectic healing model; they perceived biomedical practitioners' humility and respect as key to their positive views on the collaboration; they valued recognition of their current role and contribution in providing mental healthcare; they recognized and appreciated the biomedical clinic's effectiveness in treating violent and aggressive patients; they endorsed the collaboration and helped to overcome patient and family reluctance to the use of biomedicine; they lamented the lack of spiritual healing in biomedical treatment; and they had a number of dissatisfactions and concerns, particularly the one-way referral from religious healers to the biomedical clinic. The study results show diversity in the religious healers' etiological understanding, treatment approaches and generally positive attitude and views on the collaboration. We present insights and explorations of factors affecting this rare, but much needed collaboration between traditional healers and biomedical services, and potential ways to improve it are discussed.
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Anbesaw T, Asmamaw A, Adamu K, Tsegaw M. Mental health literacy and its associated factors among traditional healers toward mental illness in Northeast, Ethiopia: A mixed approach study. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0298406. [PMID: 38394100 PMCID: PMC10889902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Currently, the biggest issue facing the entire world is mental health. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, nearly one-fourth of the community is experiencing any of the mental illness categories. Most of the cases were treated in religious and traditional institutions, which the community most liked to be treated. However, there were very limited studies conducted to show the level of mental health literacy among traditional healers. AIMS The study aimed to assess the level of mental health literacy and its associated factors among traditional healers toward mental illness found in Northeast, Ethiopia from September 1-30/2022. METHOD A mixed approach cross-sectional study design was carried out on September 130, 2022, using simple random sampling with a total sample of 343. Pretested, structured questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were utilized for data collection. The level of Mental Health Literacy (MHL) was assessed using the 35 mental health literacy (35-MHLQ) scale. The semi-structured checklist was used for the in-depth interview and the FGD for the qualitative part. Data was entered using Epi-data version 4.6 and, then exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. The association between outcome and independent variables was analyzed with bivariate and multivariable linear regression. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data, and the findings were then referenced with the findings of the quantitative data. RESULTS The findings of this study showed that the sample of traditional healers found in Dessie City scored a total mean of mental health literacy of 91.81 ± 10:53. Age (β = -0.215, 95% CI (-0.233, -0.05), p = 0.003, informal educational status (β = -5.378, 95% CI (-6.505, -0.350), p = 0.029, presence of relative with a mental disorder (β = 6.030, 95% CI (0.073, 7.428),p = 0.046, getting information on mental illness (β = 6.565, 95% CI (3.432, 8.680), p = <0.001, and mental health training (β = 4.889, 95% CI (0.379, 6.455), p = 0.028 were variables significantly associated with mental health literacy. Traditional healers provide a variety of explanations for the causes of mental illness, including biological, psychological, and supernatural ones. CONCLUSION The mean score of the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) is lower among traditional healers compared with other studies. Age, informal educational status, family history of mental illness, getting information on mental illness, and mental health training were significantly associated with mental health literacy. Therefore, different works to improve the levels of mental health literacy among traditional healers are essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamrat Anbesaw
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
| | - Amare Asmamaw
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
| | - Kidist Adamu
- Department of Health Service Management, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
| | - Million Tsegaw
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia
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Audet CM, Seabi T, Oyekunle T, Hove J, Wagner RG. A individually randomized controlled trial comparing Healer-led vs. clinician- led training to improve personal protective equipment use among traditional healers in South Africa. PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2024; 4:e0002945. [PMID: 38394119 PMCID: PMC10889871 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Like allopathic healthcare workers, healers are also exposed to patients' blood and body fluids. A widespread practice is the traditional "injection," in which the healer performs subcutaneous incisions to rub herbs directly into the bloodied skin, resulting in 1,500 blood exposures over their lifetime. We tested the impact of healer-led PPE training, staffed by trained traditional healers who reported using PPE during each risky clinical encounter vs. healthcare worker (HCW)-led PPE training sessions. We randomized 136 healers into one of the two study arms (67 in the healer-led group, 69 in the HCW-led group) and assessed the impact of trainer on PPE skills and use over a six-month period. All healers received one in-person day of didactic and practical training followed by three sessions at the healers' home. Participants were largely female (80%), averaged 51 years old, and practiced as a healer for an average of 17 years. Almost 44% either disclosed themselves as HIV+ or received a positive HIV test result at study initiation. Healers in the HCW arm showed equivalent PPE scores as those trained by traditional healers at baseline and at seven months. Healers in both arms self-reported high levels of glove use during"injections," with no statistical difference of use by study arm. When we assessed actual gloves and razor blades disposed of each month, a similar trend emerged. No one seroconverted during the study period. The need for PPE support among traditional healers cannot be ignored. Traditional healers can be trained to effectively disseminate PPE knowledge and skills to other traditional healers. With an estimated 200,000 traditional healers in South Africa, it is imperative that all of them have access to PPE training and supplies to prevent HIV, HCV, or HBV infections. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04440813. Registered 17 June 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04440813.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn M. Audet
- Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States of America
| | - Tshegofatso Seabi
- MRC/Wits Agincourt Research Unit, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Taofik Oyekunle
- Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States of America
| | - Jennifer Hove
- MRC/Wits Agincourt Research Unit, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Ryan G. Wagner
- MRC/Wits Agincourt Research Unit, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Kpobi L, Read UM, Selormey RK, Colucci E. 'We are all working toward one goal. We want people to become well': A visual exploration of what promotes successful collaboration between community mental health workers and healers in Ghana. Transcult Psychiatry 2024; 61:30-46. [PMID: 37801486 PMCID: PMC10903112 DOI: 10.1177/13634615231197998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
The practices of traditional and faith-based healers in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and elsewhere have come under intense scrutiny in recent years owing to allegations of human rights abuses. To mitigate these, there have been calls to develop collaborations between healers and formal health services to optimise available mental health interventions in poorly resourced contexts. For various reasons, attempts to establish such partnerships in a sustainable manner in different countries have not always been successful. In this article, we present findings from the Together for Mental Health visual research project to showcase examples of healer-health worker collaborations in Ghana that have been largely successful and discuss the barriers and facilitators to establishing these partnerships. Data reported in this article were collected using visual ethnography and filmed individual interviews with eight community mental health workers, six traditional and faith-based healers and two local philanthropists in the Bono East Region. The findings suggest that successful collaborations were built through mutually respectful interpersonal relationships, support from the health system and access to community resources. Although these facilitated collaboration, resource constraints, distrust and ethical dilemmas had to be overcome to build stronger partnerships. These findings highlight the importance of dedicated institutional and logistic support for ensuring the successful integration of the different health systems in pluralistic settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Kpobi
- Regional Institute for Population Studies, University of Ghana
- Department of Psychology, University of Ghana
| | - Ursula M. Read
- Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing Research, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick
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Sarkar S, Basu A, Mandal S, Jayashankar P, Saha PK, Misra R, Sinha D, Neogi R, Saha S, Benegal V, Rao GN, Varghese M, Gururaj G. Prevalence and pattern of mental disorders in the state of West Bengal: Findings from the National Mental Health Survey of India 2016. Indian J Psychiatry 2023; 65:1307-1312. [PMID: 38298874 PMCID: PMC10826866 DOI: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_846_23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Revised: 06/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Background West Bengal, situated in eastern India, comprising 19 districts as of 2016 and consisting of 9.13 crore population, had been one of the participating states in the National Mental Health Survey, 2015-16. Aim To estimate the prevalence and pattern of mental disorders in a representative population in West Bengal. Materials and Methods Based upon a multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling with probability proportionate to each stage, 2646 eligible individuals were interviewed. Standard validated instruments in Bengali like socio-demographic profiles and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) version 6 were used by trained data collectors with quality monitoring as per a standardized protocol. Results The current prevalence of mental illness in the state of West Bengal is 13.07% (12.9-13.24 95% CI), which is more than the current national average of 10.56% (10.51-10.61 95% CI). The prevalence of severe mental illness of 2.32% and suicide risk of 1.75% (1.68-1.81 95% CI) is higher than the national average. The common mental illness prevalence is 11.29 (11.13-11.45 95% CI), which is similar to the national weighted average. In West Bengal, severe mental illness is more concentrated in the rural areas in contrast to the national trend. Also, the prevalence of alcohol use disorder is 3.04 (2.96-3.13 95% CI) and epilepsy is 0.03 (0.27-0.29 95% CI), which is less than the national average. Conclusion The prevalence of mental disorders in the state of West Bengal is higher than the national average, and for severe mental illness, the prevalence is the highest as compared to the national average.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukanto Sarkar
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Kalyani, West Bengal, India
| | - Aniruddha Basu
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Kalyani, West Bengal, India
| | - Sucharita Mandal
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Kalyani, West Bengal, India
| | - Pavithra Jayashankar
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Pradeep K. Saha
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Raghunath Misra
- Department of Community Medicine, IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Debasish Sinha
- Department of Community Medicine, Rampurhat Medical College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Rajarshi Neogi
- Department of Psychiatry, R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Soumyadeep Saha
- Department of Psychiatry, IPGMER, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - Vivek Benegal
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Girish N. Rao
- Department of Epidemiology, Centre for Public Health National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Mathew Varghese
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Gopalkrishna Gururaj
- Department of Epidemiology, Centre for Public Health WHO Collaborative Centre for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
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Halley C, Cowden S. Reconciling a Broken Heritage: Developing Mental Health Social Work in Guyana. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:6931. [PMID: 37887669 PMCID: PMC10606164 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20206931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Guyana's colonial past has left a trail of economic instability, racial polarization, and physical and mental trauma. Despite the progress made since Guyana's independence in 1966, the remnants of this colonial past continue to shape present-day Guyana. As a result, violence and trauma continue to impact the mental health of the population. This is manifest in endemic problems of domestic violence and racialized social divisions which have created the conditions for rates of suicide which are amongst the highest in the world. The formal mental health provision which exists in Guyana is based primarily on an individualized and largely biomedical model of care. Despite valuable attempts to develop this provision, the difficulty of physically accessing this for some people and the stigma which surround this means that the capacity of this system to address the serious problems which exist is limited. It is also the case that in times of emotional and psychic distress, and in the context of Guyana being a very religious country, many people turn to traditional supernatural healers and remedies for support. In this paper, we discuss what is known as "Obeah", noting that while this is widely practiced, it remains something of a taboo subject in Guyana. We consider the reasons why these practices and beliefs continue to be influential. However, what neither these biomedical or supernatural perceptions of mental health are able to address is the sociogenic nature of Guyana's mental health issues, which we argue emerges out of the historic trauma of Guyana's experience of colonialism and the violence which it engendered. We argue that profound forms of mental distress which exist in Guyana call for an integrative and holistic practice model that contextualizes these problems through a sociogenic lens. Social workers, working collaboratively with other health-related professions, can occupy a critical role in integrating these different conceptions through developing a rights-based model of mental health where the causes of mental ill-health are understood as socially determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coya Halley
- Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Guyana, Georgetown P.O. Box 10-1110, Guyana;
| | - Stephen Cowden
- School of Health and Social Care, Department of Social Work, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester GL2 9H, UK
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Galvin M, Michel G, Manguira E, Pierre E, Lesorogol C, Trani JF, Lester R, Iannotti L. Examining the Etiology and Treatment of Mental Illness Among Vodou Priests in Northern Haiti. Cult Med Psychiatry 2023; 47:647-668. [PMID: 35753013 PMCID: PMC9244373 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-022-09791-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This study assesses the perspectives and experiences of Vodou priests (ougan) in the treatment of mental illness in northern Haiti. Our goal is to explore the etiology and popular nosologies of mental illness in the context of Haitian Vodou, through understandings of illness and misfortune which are often viewed as a result of sent spirits-or spirits sent supernaturally by others with the intent to cause harm. Using a qualitative approach, this study conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 ougan living near the city of Cap-Haïtien. Interviews highlight a sample of healers with little formal training who maintain beliefs and practices that differ significantly from current biomedical models. Ougan treat mental illness through a variety of means including prayer and conjuring of spirits, leaves for teas and baths, as well as combinations of perfumes, rum, human remains, and other powdered concoctions that are either imbibed or rubbed on the skin. The primary purpose of these treatments is to expel the spirit causing harm, yet they can often result in additional harm to the patient. Findings suggest that while ougan are willing to collaborate with biomedical practitioners, significant barriers remain preventing cooperation between these two groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Galvin
- Fogarty Global Health Fellow (NIH), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Guesly Michel
- Mental Health Center at Morne Pelé, Quartier Morin, Nord, Haiti
| | - Eurine Manguira
- Mental Health Center at Morne Pelé, Quartier Morin, Nord, Haiti
| | - Edny Pierre
- Mental Health Center at Morne Pelé, Quartier Morin, Nord, Haiti
| | - Carolyn Lesorogol
- Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
| | - Jean-François Trani
- Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
| | - Rebecca Lester
- Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
| | - Lora Iannotti
- Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
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Farooq S, Sheikh S, Dikomitis L, Haq MMU, Khan AJ, Sanauddin N, Ali MW, Ali J, Khan MF, Chaudhry I, Husain N, Gul M, Irfan M, Andrews G, Kaistha P, Shah SMU, Azeemi I, Hamid S, Minhaz A, Mallen C, Lewis M. Traditional healers working with primary care and mental health for early intervention in psychosis in young persons: protocol for the feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e072471. [PMID: 37451736 PMCID: PMC10351321 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In low/middle-income countries (LMICs), more than half of patients with first-episode psychosis initially seek treatment from traditional and religious healers as their first care. This contributes to an excessively long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). There is a need for culturally appropriate interventions to involve traditional and spiritual healers to work collaboratively with primary care practitioners and psychiatrists through task-shifting for early detection, referral and treatment of first episode of psychosis. METHODS To prevent the consequences of long DUP in adolescents in LMICs, we aim to develop and pilot test a culturally appropriate and context-bespoke intervention. Traditional HEalers working with primary care and mental Health for early interventiOn in Psychosis in young pErsons (THE HOPE) will be developed using ethnographic and qualitative methods with traditional healers and caregivers. We will conduct a randomised controlled cluster feasibility trial with a nested qualitative study to assess study recruitment and acceptability of the intervention. Ninety-three union councils in district Peshawar, Pakistan will be randomised and allocated using a 1:1 ratio to either intervention arm (THE HOPE) or enhanced treatment as usual and stratified by urban/rural setting. Data on feasibility outcomes will be collected at baseline and follow-up. Patients, carers, clinicians and policymakers will be interviewed to ascertain their views about the intervention. The decision to proceed to the phase III trial will be based on prespecified stop-go criteria. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval has been obtained from Keele University Ethical Review Panel (ref: MH210177), Khyber Medical University Ethical Review Board (ref: DIR/KMU-EB/IG/001005) and National Bioethics Committee Pakistan (ref no. 4-87/NBC-840/22/621). The results of THE HOPE feasibility trial will be reported in peer-reviewed journals and academic conferences and disseminated to local stakeholders and policymakers. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ISRCTN75347421.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeed Farooq
- School of Primary, Community and Social Care, Keele University, Keele, UK
- Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Stafford, UK
| | - Saima Sheikh
- School of Primary, Community and Social Care, Keele University, Keele, UK
| | - Lisa Dikomitis
- Kent and Medway Medical School, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | | | - Abdul Jalil Khan
- Institute of Public Health & Social Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Noor Sanauddin
- Department of Sociology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | | | - Johar Ali
- Department of Sociology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | | | - Imran Chaudhry
- Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning, Karachi, Pakistan
- Ziauddin University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Nusrat Husain
- Division of Psychology and Mental Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Muhammad Gul
- Research and Innovation, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Stafford, UK
| | - Muhammad Irfan
- Department of Mental Health, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan
- Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Gabrielle Andrews
- Research and Innovation, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Stafford, UK
| | | | | | - Ishfaq Azeemi
- Department of Sociology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Shumaila Hamid
- Institute of Public Health & Social Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Aaliya Minhaz
- Department of Chemistry, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Christian Mallen
- School of Primary, Community and Social Care, Keele University, Keele, UK
| | - Martyn Lewis
- School of Primary, Community and Social Care, Keele University, Keele, UK
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Ayinde OO, Fadahunsi O, Kola L, Malla LO, Nyame S, Okoth RA, Cohen A, Appiah-Poku J, Othieno CJ, Seedat S, Gureje O. Explanatory models, illness, and treatment experiences of patients with psychosis using the services of traditional and faith healers in three African countries: Similarities and discontinuities. Transcult Psychiatry 2023; 60:521-536. [PMID: 34913379 DOI: 10.1177/13634615211064370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
As part of formative studies to design a program of collaborative care for persons with psychosis, we explored personal experience and lay attributions of illness as well as treatment among persons who had recently received care at traditional and faith healers' (TFHs) facilities in three cultural groups in Sub-Saharan Africa. A purposive sample of 85 individuals in Ibadan (Nigeria), Kumasi (Ghana), and Nairobi (Kenya) were interviewed. Data was inductively explored for themes and analysis was informed by the Framework Method. Across the three sites, illness experiences featured suffering and disability in different life domains. Predominant causal attribution was supernatural, even when biological causation was also acknowledged. Prayer and rituals, steeped in traditional spiritual beliefs, were prominent both in traditional faith healing settings as well as those of Christianity and Islam. Concurrent or consecutive use of TFHs and conventional medical services was common. TFHs provided services that appear to meet the therapeutic goals of their patients even when harmful treatment practices were employed. Cultural and linguistic differences did not obscure the commonality of a core set of beliefs and practices across these three groups. This similarity of core worldviews across diverse cultural settings means that a collaborative approach designed in one cultural group would, with adaptations to reflect differences in context, be applicable in another cultural group. Studies of patients' experience of illness and care are useful in designing and implementing collaborations between biomedical and TFH services as a way of scaling up services and improving the outcome of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Alex Cohen
- Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
| | | | | | - Soraya Seedat
- Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
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13
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Csordas TJ. The Challenge of Indigenous Healing for Global Mental Health. Transcult Psychiatry 2023; 60:443-456. [PMID: 34730457 DOI: 10.1177/13634615211038167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Psychiatry and anthropology have a long relationship, and it is worth examining aspects of how that relation is carried over into the developing field of Global Mental Health (GMH). One place at which the two disciplines overlap significantly is in addressing religious phenomena and ritual performance in relation to mental health, and one of the greatest challenges for GMH is how productively to take into account forms of indigenous healing based on religion and ritual. In this paper I compare recent texts in GMH written from the standpoint of psychiatry and anthropology, observing that the psychiatric texts emphasize evidence-based determination of treatment efficacy, while the anthropological texts emphasize ethnographic understanding of treatment experience. Reconciling these two emphases constitutes a challenge to the field, attending to contextual variations in treatment events, illness episodes, phenomenological factors both endogenous and intersubjective, and sociopolitical factors both interpersonal and structural. In addressing this challenge, I propose an approach to therapeutic process that on the empirical level can facilitate comparison across the diversity of healing forms, and on the conceptual level can constitute a bridge between efficacy and experience. This approach is predicated on a rhetorical model of therapeutic process including components of disposition, experience of the sacred, elaboration of alternatives, and actualization of change that highlights experiential specificity and incremental change. Deploying this model can help meet the challenge of understanding efficacy and experience in indigenous healing, and prepare the ground for the further challenge of how practitioners of GMH relate to and interact with such forms of healing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Csordas
- Department of Anthropology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Omigbodun OO, Ryan GK, Fasoranti B, Chibanda D, Esliker R, Sefasi A, Kakuma R, Shakespeare T, Eaton J. Reprioritising global mental health: psychoses in sub-Saharan Africa. Int J Ment Health Syst 2023; 17:6. [PMID: 36978186 PMCID: PMC10043866 DOI: 10.1186/s13033-023-00574-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Arthur Kleinman's 2009 Lancet commentary described global mental health as a "moral failure of humanity", asserting that priorities should be based not on the epidemiological and utilitarian economic arguments that tend to favour common mental health conditions like mild to moderate depression and anxiety, but rather on the human rights of those in the most vulnerable situations and the suffering that they experience. Yet more than a decade later, people with severe mental health conditions like psychoses are still being left behind. Here, we add to Kleinman's appeal a critical review of the literature on psychoses in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting contradictions between local evidence and global narratives surrounding the burden of disease, the outcomes of schizophrenia, and the economic costs of mental health conditions. We identify numerous instances where the lack of regionally representative data and other methodological shortcomings undermine the conclusions of international research carried out to inform decision-making. Our findings point to the need not only for more research on psychoses in sub-Saharan Africa, but also for more representation and leadership in the conduct of research and in international priority-setting more broadly-especially by people with lived experience from diverse backgrounds. This paper aims to encourage debate about how this chronically under-resourced field, as part of wider conversations in global mental health, can be reprioritised.
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Affiliation(s)
- O O Omigbodun
- Department of Psychiatry and Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, 200212, Oyo State, Nigeria
| | - G K Ryan
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Global Mental Health, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
| | - B Fasoranti
- Department of Psychiatry and Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, 200212, Oyo State, Nigeria
| | - D Chibanda
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Global Mental Health, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
- Research Support Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - R Esliker
- Mental Health Department, University of Makeni, Lunsar-Makeni Highway, Makeni, Sierra Leone
| | - A Sefasi
- Department of Mental Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, P/Bag 360, Blantyre, Malawi
| | - R Kakuma
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Global Mental Health, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - T Shakespeare
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, International Centre for Evidence in Disability, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - J Eaton
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centre for Global Mental Health, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK
- CBM Global Disability Inclusion, Dr.-Werner-Freyberg-Straβe 7, 69514, Laudenbach, Germany
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Ngubane NP, De Gama BZ. A quantitative evaluation of traditional health practitioners’ perspectives on mental disorders in KwaZulu-Natal: knowledge, diagnosis, and treatment practices. JOURNAL OF SPIRITUALITY IN MENTAL HEALTH 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/19349637.2023.2194561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
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Maddock A, Ean N, Campbell A, Davidson G. Mental health service accessibility, development and research priority setting in Cambodia - a post-conflict nation. BMC Health Serv Res 2023; 23:183. [PMID: 36810110 PMCID: PMC9945704 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-023-09187-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The limited health and social care infrastructure that existed in the 1970s in Cambodia was destroyed due to the Khmer Rouge. Mental Health service infrastructures have developed in Cambodia in the last twenty five years, however, they have been shaped significantly by very limited funding being made available for human resources, support services and research. The lack of research on Cambodia's mental health systems and services is a significant barrier to the development of evidence-based mental health policies and practice. In order to address this barrier, effective research and development strategies are needed in Cambodia, which are based on locally well-informed research priorities. There are many possibilities for mental health research in LMIC countries such as Cambodia, therefore focused research priorities in these areas are needed to guide future research investment. This paper is the result of the development of international collaborative workshops, which focused on service mapping and research priority setting in the field of mental health in Cambodia. METHODS A nominal group technique was used to gather ideas and insights from a range of key mental health service stakeholders in Cambodia. RESULTS The key issues in service provisions for people with mental health issues and disorders, the interventions and programmes of support available, and currently needed, were identified. This paper also identifies five key mental health research priority areas which could form the basis for effective mental health research and development strategies in Cambodia. CONCLUSION There is a clear need for the Cambodian government to devise a clear policy framework for health research. This framework could focus on the five research domains identified in this paper and could be incorporated within its National Health Strategic plans. The implementation of this approach would likely lead to the development of an evidence base which would allow the development of effective and sustainable strategies for mental health problem prevention and intervention. This would also contribute to promote the Cambodian government's capacity to take the deliberate, concrete, and targeted steps necessary to address the complex mental health needs of its population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Maddock
- School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Nil Ean
- School of Psychology, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Anne Campbell
- School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - Gavin Davidson
- School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
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Ongeri L, Nyawira M, Kariuki SM, Bitta M, Schubart C, Penninx BWJH, Newton CRJC, Tijdink JK. Perspectives on reasons for suicidal behaviour and recommendations for suicide prevention in Kenya: qualitative study. BJPsych Open 2023; 9:e38. [PMID: 36797822 PMCID: PMC9970164 DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2023.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little is known about the reasons for suicidal behaviour in Africa, and communities' perception of suicide prevention. A contextualised understanding of these reasons is important in guiding the implementation of potential suicide prevention interventions in specific settings. AIMS To understand ideas, experiences and opinions on reasons contributing to suicidal behaviour in the Coast region of Kenya, and provide recommendations for suicide prevention. METHOD We conducted a qualitative study with various groups of key informants residing in the Coast region of Kenya, using in-depth interviews. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and translated from the local language before thematic inductive content analysis. RESULTS From the 25 in-depth interviews, we identified four key themes as reasons given for suicidal behaviour: interpersonal and relationship problems, financial and economic difficulties, mental health conditions and religious and cultural influences. These reasons were observed to be interrelated with each other and well-aligned to the suggested recommendations for suicide prevention. We found six key recommendations from our thematic content analysis: (a) increasing access to counselling and social support, (b) improving mental health awareness and skills training, (c) restriction of suicide means, (d) decriminalisation of suicide, (e) economic and education empowerment and (f) encouraging religion and spirituality. CONCLUSIONS The reasons for suicidal behaviour are comparable with high-income countries, but suggested prevention strategies are more contextualised to our setting. A multifaceted approach in preventing suicide in (coastal) Kenya is warranted based on the varied reasons suggested. Community-based interventions will likely improve and increase access to suicide prevention in this study area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linnet Ongeri
- Centre for Clinical Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Miriam Nyawira
- Neuroscience Unit, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Symon M Kariuki
- Neuroscience Unit, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya; and Department of Public Health, Pwani University, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Mary Bitta
- Neuroscience Unit, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya; and Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Chris Schubart
- Division of Mental Health, Tergooi Medical Centre, Hilversum, The Netherlands
| | | | - Charles R J C Newton
- Neuroscience Unit, Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya; and Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Joeri K Tijdink
- Department of Ethics, Law and Humanities, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, The Netherlands; and Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, VU Universiteit, The Netherlands
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18
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Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma and help-seeking attitudes: a multinational population-based study from 16 Arab countries and 10,036 individuals. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2022; 58:641-656. [PMID: 36583767 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-022-02403-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is evidence that culture deeply affects beliefs about mental illnesses' causes, treatment, and help-seeking. We aimed to explore and compare knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness and help-seeking, causal attributions, and help-seeking recommendations for mental illnesses across various Arab countries and investigate factors related to attitudes toward help-seeking. METHODS We carried out a multinational cross-sectional study using online self-administered surveys in the Arabic language from June to November 2021 across 16 Arab countries among participants from the general public. RESULTS More than one in four individuals exhibited stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness (26.5%), had poor knowledge (31.7%), and hold negative attitudes toward help-seeking (28.0%). ANOVA tests revealed a significant difference between countries regarding attitudes (F = 194.8, p < .001), knowledge (F = 88.7, p < .001), and help-seeking attitudes (F = 32.4, p < .001). Three multivariate regression analysis models were performed for overall sample, as well as Palestinian and Sudanese samples that displayed the lowest and highest ATSPPH-SF scores, respectively. In the overall sample, being female, older, having higher knowledge and more positive attitudes toward mental illness, and endorsing biomedical and psychosocial causations were associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes; whereas having a family psychiatric history and endorsing religious/supernatural causations were associated with more negative help-seeking attitudes. The same results have been found in the Palestinian sample, while only stigma dimensions helped predict help-seeking attitudes in Sudanese participants. CONCLUSION Interventions aiming at improving help-seeking attitudes and behaviors and promoting early access to care need to be culturally tailored, and congruent with public beliefs about mental illnesses and their causations.
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19
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Cucchi A. Integrating Cognitive Behavioural and Islamic Principles in Psychology and Psychotherapy: A Narrative Review. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2022; 61:4849-4870. [PMID: 35589995 PMCID: PMC9119255 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-022-01576-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Standardisation of knowledge has become a by-product of globalisation, and western-based models are often seen as the ultimate answer to expertise and development. In light of this, some professionals have debated the feasibility of employing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with Muslim communities. Debates have focused on CBT's secular roots and its compatibility with a world where Islam permeates most aspects of life. This article highlights some of the theoretical dilemmas of integration and suggests ways to bridge the existing gap between secular and Islamic literature and avoid alienating those individuals who might feel uncomfortable with secular CBT teachings.
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20
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Steinhorst J, Tianyi FL, Habib AG, Oluoch GO, Lalloo DG, Stienstra Y. Uniting behind a common goal: Collaboration between traditional healers and allopathic health care workers to improve rural snakebite care. Toxicon X 2022; 16:100140. [PMID: 36353448 PMCID: PMC9637966 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2022.100140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Snakebite envenoming is an acute medical emergency which affects hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, primarily in remote rural areas of low-and middle income countries in the Global South. A considerable proportion of snakebite patients turn to traditional healers (THs) for help, driven by a number of push and pull factors. These include socio-cultural factors, geographical proximity, and the absence or inaccessibility of overstretched and often costly allopathic healthcare services. Although traditional healers and allopathic healthcare staff share a common focus -the recovery and well-being of their patients- both systems operate largely in parallel to each other with collaborations being an exception rather than the rule. This is to the detriment of snakebite patients, who frequently find themselves being caught-up in the dualism between the two separate systems. Given the right circumstances, snakebite patients could benefit from elements of care from both modalities. Here, we have reviewed the role of THs in snakebite care and explored how their integration into the formal healthcare system could improve the implementation and outcome of care. The effective recruitment of THs to aid in disease control and treatment efforts in diseases other than snakebite underscores the potential benefits of this strategy. Carefully devised proof of concept studies are needed to test our hypothesis that collaborations between the formal healthcare sector and THs are feasible and improve outcomes in snakebite care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Steinhorst
- University of Groningen, Department of Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Frank-Leonel Tianyi
- Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Abdulrazaq Garba Habib
- Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Health Science, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria
| | - George O. Oluoch
- Kenya Snakebite Research & Intervention Centre, Institute of Primate Research, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - David G. Lalloo
- Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Ymkje Stienstra
- University of Groningen, Department of Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands,Centre for Snakebite Research and Interventions, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom,Corresponding author. CSRI Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place Liverpool L3 5QA, United Kingdom.
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Singh SP, Jilka S, Abdulmalik J, Bouliotis G, Chadda R, Egbokhare O, Huque R, Hundt GL, Iyer S, Jegede O, Khera N, Lilford R, Madan J, Omigbodun A, Omigbodun O, Raja T, Read UM, Siddiqi BA, Sood M, Soron TR, Ahmed HU. Transforming access to care for serious mental disorders in slums (the TRANSFORM Project): rationale, design and protocol. BJPsych Open 2022; 8:e185. [PMID: 36226591 PMCID: PMC9634584 DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2022.584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper introduces the TRANSFORM project, which aims to improve access to mental health services for people with serious and enduring mental disorders (SMDs - psychotic disorders and severe mood disorders, often with co-occurring substance misuse) living in urban slums in Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Ibadan (Nigeria). People living in slum communities have high rates of SMDs, limited access to mental health services and conditions of chronic hardship. Help is commonly sought from faith-based and traditional healers, but people with SMDs require medical treatment, support and follow-up. This multicentre, international mental health mixed-methods research project will (a) conduct community-based ethnographic assessment using participatory methods to explore community understandings of SMDs and help-seeking; (b) explore the role of traditional and faith-based healing for SMDs, from the perspectives of people with SMDs, caregivers, community members, healers, community health workers (CHWs) and health professionals; (c) co-design, with CHWs and healers, training packages for screening, early detection and referral to mental health services; and (d) implement and evaluate the training packages for clinical and cost-effectiveness in improving access to treatment for those with SMDs. TRANSFORM will develop and test a sustainable intervention that can be integrated into existing clinical care and inform priorities for healthcare providers and policy makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swaran P Singh
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK; and Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Partnership Trust, Coventry, UK
| | - Sagar Jilka
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Jibril Abdulmalik
- Centre for Child & Adolescent Mental Health & Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | | | - Rakesh Chadda
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India
| | - Olayinka Egbokhare
- Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Rumana Huque
- Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | | | - Srividya Iyer
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Verdun, Quebec, Canada
| | - Obafemi Jegede
- Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | | | - Richard Lilford
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Jason Madan
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Akinyinka Omigbodun
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Olayinka Omigbodun
- Centre for Child & Adolescent Mental Health & Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Tasneem Raja
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Ursula M Read
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Bulbul Ashraf Siddiqi
- Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Mamta Sood
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India
| | | | - Helal Uddin Ahmed
- Adolescent and family Psychiatry Department National Institute of Mental Health, Dhaka, Bangladesh; on behalf of the TRANSFORM consortium
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Khattak MI, Dikomitis L, Khan MF, Haq MU, Saeed U, Awan NR, Haq ZU, Shepherd T, Mallen CD, Farooq S. Patients’ and healthcare professionals’ perspectives on a community-based intervention for schizophrenia in Pakistan: A focus group study. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273286. [PMID: 36037187 PMCID: PMC9423632 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective To explore the perceptions and experiences of schizophrenia from patients, their care givers, health care providers, spiritual and traditional healers to develop a community-based intervention for improving treatment adherence for people with schizophrenia in Pakistan. Methods This qualitative study involved four focus group discussions (FGD) with a total of 26 participants: patients and carers (n = 5), primary care staff (n = 7), medical technicians (n = 8) and traditional and spiritual healers (n = 6). The participants were selected using purposive sampling method. FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed. A thematic analysis was applied to the data set. Results The themes identified were (i) Schizophrenia is not merely a biomedical problem: participants believed that poverty and an inferiority complex resulting from social disparity caused schizophrenia and contributed to non-adherence to medications; (ii) Spiritual healing goes hand in hand with the medical treatment: participants regarded spiritual and traditional treatment methods as an inherent part of schizophrenia patients’ well-being and rehabilitation; (iii) Services for mental illness: mental health is not covered under primary health in a basic health unit: participants believed that the lack of services, training and necessary medication in primary care are major issues for treating schizophrenia in community; (iv) Barriers to community-based interventions: primary care staff believed that multiple pressures on staff, lack of incentives, non-availability of medication and lack of formal referral pathways resulted in disintegration of dealing with schizophrenia patients in primary care facilities. Conclusion The study has identified a number of barriers and facilitators to developing and delivering a psychosocial intervention to support people living with schizophrenia in Pakistan. In particular, the importance of involving spiritual and traditional healers was highlighted by our diverse group of stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Ishaq Khattak
- Institute of Public Health & Social Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Pakistan Khyber Medical University Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Lisa Dikomitis
- Kent and Medway Medical School, University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | | | - Mukhtar Ul Haq
- Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Umaima Saeed
- Institute of Public Health & Social Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Pakistan Khyber Medical University Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Naila Riaz Awan
- Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Zia Ul Haq
- Institute of Public Health & Social Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Pakistan Khyber Medical University Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan
- Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Shepherd
- School of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
| | | | - Saeed Farooq
- School of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
- Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust, St. George’s Hospital, Stafford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Sequeira M, Singh S, Fernandes L, Gaikwad L, Gupta D, Chibanda D, Nadkarni A. Adolescent Health Series The status of adolescent mental health research, practice and policy in sub-Saharan Africa: A narrative review. Trop Med Int Health 2022; 27:758-766. [PMID: 35906997 PMCID: PMC9544168 DOI: 10.1111/tmi.13802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) has the fastest growing adolescent population in the world. In addition to developmental changes, adolescents in SSA face health and socioeconomic challenges that increase their vulnerability to mental ill‐health. This paper is a narrative review of adolescent mental health (AMH) in SSA with a focus on past achievements, current developments, and future directions in the areas of research, practice and policy in the region. We describe the status of AMH in the region, critical factors that negatively impact AMH, and the ways in which research, practice and policy have responded to this need. Depression, anxiety and post‐traumatic stress disorders are the most common mental health problems among adolescents in SSA. Intervention development has largely been focused on HIV/AIDS service delivery in school or community programs by non‐specialist health workers. There is a severe shortage of specialised AMH services, poor integration of services into primary health care, lack of a coordinated inter‐sectoral collaboration, and the absence of clear referral pathways. Policies for the promotion of AMH have been given less attention by policymakers, due to stigma attached to mental health problems, and an insufficient understanding of the link between mental health and social determinants, such as poverty. Given these gaps, traditional healers are the most accessible care available to help‐seeking adolescents. Sustained AMH research with a focus on the socioeconomic benefits of implementing evidence‐based, contextually adapted psychosocial interventions might prove useful in advocating for much needed policies to improve AMH in SSA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Soumya Singh
- Addictions Research Group, Sangath, Porvorim, Goa, India
| | | | - Leena Gaikwad
- Addictions Research Group, Sangath, Porvorim, Goa, India
| | - Devika Gupta
- Addictions Research Group, Sangath, Porvorim, Goa, India.,Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Dixon Chibanda
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.,Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Abhijit Nadkarni
- Addictions Research Group, Sangath, Porvorim, Goa, India.,Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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Okafor IP, Oyewale DV, Ohazurike C, Ogunyemi AO. Role of traditional beliefs in the knowledge and perceptions of mental health and illness amongst rural-dwelling women in western Nigeria. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med 2022; 14:e1-e8. [PMID: 36226933 PMCID: PMC9575354 DOI: 10.4102/phcfm.v14i1.3547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Globally, the public health importance of mental health has gained significant attention in recent years. In Africa, many traditional belief systems impact the perceptions, attitude and management of mental illness. Women are usually the primary caregivers of mentally ill persons, but they have lower mental health literacy. Aim To assess rural women’s knowledge, perceptions and attitudes regarding mental illnesses and the role of traditional beliefs in their management. Setting Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Methods This was a cross-sectional study with a total of 295 rural women recruited through a multistage sampling method. A pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Summary and inferential statistics were measured using Epi Info version 7. The level of significance was predetermined at 5%. Results A total of 253 questionnaires were adequately filled and analysed. Overall, just over one-third (35%) of respondents had good knowledge and only 26% had positive attitudes towards mental health and illness. About 45% reported that mental illness should first be treated in ‘the traditional way’, whilst 47% felt that there was no need for collaboration between orthodox and unorthodox healthcare for mental illness. Sociodemographic variables were significantly associated with knowledge (educational level p = 0.001) and attitude (marital status p = 0.001 and ethnicity p = 0.001). Conclusion Respondents had poor knowledge of and attitude towards mental health, and traditional beliefs played a role in their perception and management of mental illness. We recommend community-based health education programmes to improve knowledge and help-seeking for mental illness amongst rural women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ifeoma P Okafor
- Department of Community Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Mushin.
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25
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Ngwenya TZ, Huang N, Wang IA, Chen CY. Urban-Rural Differences in Depression Literacy Among High School Teachers in the Kingdom of Eswatini. THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH 2022; 92:561-569. [PMID: 35318668 DOI: 10.1111/josh.13173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Concerns have been raised over teachers' mental health literacy in low-income countries and lower- and middle-income countries wherein pediatric mental health resources are limited. This study aims to investigate adolescent depression literacy among teachers in Eswatini and to explore the role of urbanicity. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 59 public high schools in Eswatini in 2019-2020. Data were collected by a paper-and-pencil questionnaire; depression literacy was assessed by the 17-item Adolescent Depression Knowledge Questionnaire. RESULTS Teachers' adolescent depression literacy item-level correct rates fell between 27 and 80%. Although the multivariate response models indicated that teaching in urban areas was slightly associated with having higher depression literacy in general (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.46; 95% confidence interval = 1.00-2.12), such urban-rural differences did not manifest homogeneously across all items: urban teaching was significantly linked with reduced correct responses toward certain items concerning depression etiology and treatment, including "depression runs in some families," "major stress as a necessary cause," and "a curable illness" (aOR = 0.57 ∼ 0.68). CONCLUSION Urban-rural differences in teachers' depression literacy were manifested at both scale- and item-levels. A critical need exists for urban/rural areas-tailored intervention on teachers' literacy toward mental disorders in the resource-limited regions to better improve health and developmental outcomes of students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thabo Zwelethu Ngwenya
- His Majesty's Correctional Services, Health Care Services, Box 166, Mbabane, Eswatini; International Health Program, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Nicole Huang
- International Health Program; Institute of Hospital and Health Care Administration; Institute of Public Health, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - I-An Wang
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institute, Zhunan, Taiwan
| | - Chuan-Yu Chen
- Institute of Public Health, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan; Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan
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Mkabile S, Swartz L. Traditional healers' explanatory models of intellectual disability in Cape Town. Transcult Psychiatry 2022; 59:263-273. [PMID: 35225090 DOI: 10.1177/13634615211055967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
While intellectual disability is experienced worldwide, with much greater rates in contexts of poverty, relatively few studies on intellectual disability have been conducted in low- and middle-income countries. High levels of intellectual disability in South Africa exist alongside high levels of poverty, malnutrition and poor or inaccessible healthcare services. The lack of access to services partly explains why many turn to traditional healers. Within this context there is very limited research on the role that traditional healers play in relation to intellectual disability in South Africa. The current study investigated traditional healers' understanding and beliefs about intellectual disabilities and the treatment modalities that they use. An exploratory qualitative research design was used to examine the views and perspectives of traditional healers on intellectual disability. Fifteen traditional healers participated in the study. Key findings show that the naming of and the terminology used to describe and identify intellectual disability are very much similar to what has been observed in African cultures in general where intellectual disability is identified as an abnormality. Some traditional healers located the presentation of intellectual disability within the biomedical sphere while others gave supernatural explanations for how intellectual disability presents in children and for its causes. All traditional healers expressed a willingness to work with the Western formal healthcare system. Findings on traditional healers' views on future collaborations with the formal health system provide opportunities for these two forms of healthcare services to be synergised for the strengthening and improvement of services provided to children with intellectual disability and their families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyabulela Mkabile
- Department of Psychology, 26697Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Leslie Swartz
- Department of Psychology, 26697Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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Ntlantsana V, Molebatsi K, Mashaphu S, Chiliza B, Akena D. Post-traumatic stress disorder psychological interventions in sub-Saharan Africa: protocol for a systematic review of the literature. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e052903. [PMID: 35193908 PMCID: PMC8867375 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Untreated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) results in considerable morbidity and higher risk of mortality. However, little is being done to treat PTSD in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) settings where rates of PTSD are likely to be elevated due to mass exposure of the population to traumatic events. This systematic review aims to summarise available evidence on the efficacy of psychological therapies for PTSD in SSA. METHODS AND ANALYSIS A systematic search of the literature will be conducted in four electronic databases: PubMed, PsychInfo, EMBASE and Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials using keywords and synonyms related to 'PTSD', 'psychological therapies' and 'SSA'. Studies will be included if they were conducted in SSA and used a randomised controlled trial design. Two researchers will screen the studies for eligibility to be included, and data on intervention types, population, comorbidities, comparison group intervention and PTSD outcomes will be extracted from those included. Risk of bias will be assessed using Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomised trials (version 2). Narrative synthesis of data will be conducted and pooled effect estimates calculated. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval is not required as this is a protocol of a systematic review of available data. Findings will be disseminated to the scientific community through peer-reviewed publications and presentation at conferences. PROSPERO REGISTRATION CRD42020181638.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vuyokazi Ntlantsana
- Departments of Psychiatry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Keneilwe Molebatsi
- Departments of Psychiatry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Sibongile Mashaphu
- Departments of Psychiatry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Bonginkosi Chiliza
- Departments of Psychiatry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Dickens Akena
- Department of Psychiatry, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
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Chan CS, Hazan H. The Health Hexagon Model: Postulating a holistic lifestyle approach to mental health for times and places of uncertainty. SSM - MENTAL HEALTH 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
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Campion J, Javed A, Lund C, Sartorius N, Saxena S, Marmot M, Allan J, Udomratn P. Public mental health: required actions to address implementation failure in the context of COVID-19. Lancet Psychiatry 2022; 9:169-182. [PMID: 35065723 PMCID: PMC8776278 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(21)00199-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Mental disorders account for at least 18% of global disease burden, and the associated annual global costs are projected to be US$6 trillion by 2030. Evidence-based, cost-effective public mental health (PMH) interventions exist to prevent mental disorders from arising, prevent associated impacts of mental disorders (including through treatment), and promote mental wellbeing and resilience. However, only a small proportion of people with mental disorders receive minimally adequate treatment. Compared with treatment, there is even less coverage of interventions to prevent the associated impacts of mental disorders, prevent mental disorders from arising, or promote mental wellbeing and resilience. This implementation failure breaches the right to health, has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and results in preventable suffering, broad impacts, and associated economic costs. In this Health Policy paper, we outline specific actions to improve the coverage of PMH interventions, including PMH needs assessments, collaborative advocacy and leadership, PMH practice to inform policy and implementation, training and improvement of population literacy, settings-based and integrated approaches, use of digital technology, maximising existing resources, focus on high-return interventions, human rights approaches, legislation, and implementation research. Increased interest in PMH in populations and governments since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic supports these actions. Improved implementation of PMH interventions can result in broad health, social, and economic impacts, even in the short-term, which support the achievement of a range of policy objectives, sustainable economic development, and recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Campion
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Public Mental Health Implementation Centre, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK.
| | - Afzal Javed
- Department of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Crick Lund
- King's Global Health Institute, Centre for Global Mental Health, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London, UK; Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Norman Sartorius
- Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Shekhar Saxena
- Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael Marmot
- Institute of Health Equity, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, London, UK
| | - John Allan
- Office of the President, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs Branch, Clinical Excellence Queensland, Queensland Health, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Mayne Academy of Psychiatry, University of Queensland Medical School, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Pichet Udomratn
- Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
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Serial indirect effects of psychosocial causal beliefs and stigma on help-seeking preferences for depression. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-02683-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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van der Zeijst MCE, Veling W, Makhathini EM, Mbatha ND, Shabalala SS, van Hoeken D, Susser E, Burns JK, Hoek HW. Course of psychotic experiences and disorders among apprentice traditional health practitioners in rural South Africa: 3-year follow-up study. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:956003. [PMID: 36245859 PMCID: PMC9558832 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.956003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Culture is inevitably linked with the experience, interpretation and course of what modern biomedicine understands to be psychotic symptoms. However, data on psychoses in low- and middle-income countries are sparse. Our previous study showed that psychotic and mood-related experiences, symptoms and disorders are common among individuals who had received the ancestral calling to become a traditional health practitioner (THP) in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Our related ethnographic study suggested that ukuthwasa (the training to become a THP) may positively moderate these calling-related symptoms. As far as we know, no research has been conducted into the course of psychiatric symptoms among apprentice THPs. OBJECTIVE We studied the course of psychotic experiences, symptoms and disorders among apprentice THPs. We also assessed their level of functioning and expanded our knowledge on ukuthwasa. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a 3-year follow-up of a baseline sample of apprentice THPs (n = 48). Psychiatric assessments (CAPE, SCAN), assessment of functioning (WHODAS) and a semi-structured qualitative questionnaire were completed for 42 individuals. RESULTS At 3-year follow-up, psychotic experiences were associated with significantly less distress and there was a reduction in frequency of psychotic symptoms compared to baseline. The number of participants with psychotic disorders had decreased from 7 (17%) to 4 (10%). Six out of seven participants (86%) with a psychotic disorder at baseline no longer had a psychiatric diagnosis at follow-up. Although the mean level of disability among the (apprentice) THPs corresponded with the 78th percentile found in the general population, 37 participants (88%) reported no or mild disability. Forty-one participants (98%) reported that ukuthwasa had positively influenced their psychiatric symptoms. CONCLUSION In rural KwaZulu-Natal, psychotic experiences, symptoms and disorders have a benign course in most individuals who are undergoing the process of becoming a THP. Ukuthwasa may be an effective, culturally sanctioned, healing intervention for some selected individuals, potentially because it reframes distressing experiences into positive and highly valued experiences, reduces stigma, and enhances social empowerment and identity construction. This implies that cultural and spiritual interventions can have a positive influence on the course of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wim Veling
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Elliot M Makhathini
- Department of Nursing, Durban University of Technology, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.,Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Ndukuzakhe D Mbatha
- Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Sinethemba S Shabalala
- Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | | | - Ezra Susser
- Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.,New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
| | - Jonathan K Burns
- Department of Psychiatry, Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.,Institute of Health Research, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Hans W Hoek
- Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.,Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
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Baheretibeb Y, Soklaridis S, Wondimagegn D, Martimianakis MAT, Law S. Transformative learning in the setting of religious healers: A case study of consultative mental health workshops with religious healers, Ethiopia. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:897833. [PMID: 36177217 PMCID: PMC9513177 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.897833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Psychiatric interventions that consider the socio-cultural and spiritual traditions of patients are needed to address stigma and improve access to mental health services. Productive collaboration between traditional healers and biomedical practitioners hold promise in such efforts, and applying tenets of transformative learning hold potential for mitigating an overemphasis on biomedical models in such collaboration. We present a framework for how to engage in health system reform to enhance mental health services in communities that are distrustful of, or unfamiliar with biomedical approaches. Our research question was how to bridge two seemingly opposing paradigms of mental health care, and we sought to understand how the theory of transformational learning (TLT) can be applied to learning among Religious healers and biomedical practitioners in culturally appropriate ways to improve collaboration. METHODS TLT informed the development, implementation, and evaluation of an educational intervention in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that aimed to improve delivery of mental health services at two Holy water sites. The initiative involved both psychiatrists and religious healers with extensive experience providing care to mentally ill patients. Using a focused ethnographic approach that incorporates document analysis methodology, this qualitative study examined recordings and minutes of stakeholder meetings, workshops and informal interviews with participants, analyzed for evidence of Mezirow's 11 stages of transformative learning. A participatory action approach was used to encourage practice change. RESULTS All participants exhibited a high degree of engagement with the of the collaborative project and described experiencing "disorienting dilemmas" by Mezirow's classic description. Opportunities to reflect separately and in large groups encouraged a re-examination of attitudes previously contributing to siloed approaches to care and led to instrumental changes in mental health care delivery and a higher degree of coordination and collaboration between psychiatrists and traditional healers. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates the utility of TLT in both the design and evaluation of initiatives aiming to bridge cross-cultural and cross-professional divides. The learning process was further enhanced by a collaborative participatory action model adjusted to accommodate Ethiopian socio-political and cultural relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonas Baheretibeb
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Sophie Soklaridis
- The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Dawit Wondimagegn
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | | | - Samuel Law
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Farhall J, Pepping CA, Cai RY, Cugnetto ML, Miller SD. Use of Psychics for Stress and Emotional Problems: A Descriptive Survey Comparison with Conventional Providers and Informal Helpers. ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY IN MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH 2021; 49:326-342. [PMID: 34613488 DOI: 10.1007/s10488-021-01166-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Conventional mental health treatments do not meet the needs of all who seek help: some consult informal and alternative providers. Researching the use and perceived benefits of these non-conventional sources of help may contribute to understanding help-seeking behavior and inform mental health policy. We explored the experiences of people consulting psychics (a type of alternative provider) for mental health needs, through comparisons with experiences of people consulting conventional and informal providers. An online survey sought feedback on help seeking for stress or emotional problems from 734 adults who had consulted a psychologist or counsellor; doctor or psychiatrist who prescribed medication; friend or family member; or psychic or similar alternative provider. Analyses included descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis of textual responses. Problems were commonly described in symptom or disorder terminology with considerable overlap across groups. Content analysis of reasons for choice of helper identified four main categories-functional, reasoned, emotional, and passive-which differed significantly across groups (Cramer's V = 0.26), with consulting psychics predominantly a reasoned choice. Ratings of overall effectiveness of help by those consulting psychics were greater than for the three other groups (d = 0.31 to 0.42), with very few adverse outcomes in any group. Help seeking for stress or emotional problems includes consultations with psychics or similar alternative providers, with self-reported outcomes better than for conventional providers. Further research is warranted to establish whether psychic consultations may serve a useful public health function.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Farhall
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia.
- Academic Psychology Unit, NorthWestern Mental Health, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Epping, Australia.
| | - Christopher A Pepping
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia
| | - Ru Ying Cai
- Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice, Autism Spectrum Australia, Flemington, Australia
- Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Marilyn L Cugnetto
- Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia
- Academic Psychology Unit, NorthWestern Mental Health, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Epping, Australia
| | - Scott D Miller
- International Center for Clinical Excellence, Chicago, IL, USA
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Pullen SJ, Herman AR, Lange BC, Christian-Brathwaite N, Ulloa M, Kempeh MP, Karnga DG, Fallah MP, Menyongai J, Harris B, Alonso Y, Henderson DC, Borba CP. Towards a better understanding of attitudes and beliefs held by traditional healers and recipients of traditional medicine concerning mental health conditions in post-conflict Liberia: a qualitative investigation. Afr Health Sci 2021; 21:1396-1409. [PMID: 35222605 PMCID: PMC8843300 DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v21i3.51] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background A better understanding of attitudes and beliefs held by traditional healers and utilizers of traditional medicine concerning mental health conditions in Liberia is important as Liberia seeks to improve its delivery of mental healthcare in the context of scarce resources and recovery from civil war. Methods A qualitative research design was used to collect data from 24 Liberian traditional healers, and 11 utilizers of Liberian traditional medicine. Participants were queried about mental health problems in Liberia, treatments, and attitudes towards modern healthcare. Qualitative data were probed and aggregated using content analysis. Results Mental health problems described by study participants included: Open Mole, African Science, Epilepsy, Depression and Mental Illness (trauma/substance use). Mental health problems were often associated with socioeconomic distress, and participants described their attitudes and beliefs concerning mental healthcare, traditional medicine, and modern healthcare. Conclusion Traditional medicine is an important part of mental healthcare in Africa. Mental illness, social factors, and healthcare access were important problems in Liberia. Mental health problems blended local cultural beliefs with Westernized nosology and social factors. Traditional healer's attitudes towards Western medicine reflected ambivalence. There is a desire for collaboration with ‘modern’ health care providers, but this will require reciprocal trust-building.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J Pullen
- Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Family Mental Health and Community Psychiatry, Durham, NC.,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore
| | | | - Brittany Cl Lange
- University of Oxford - Department of Social Policy and Intervention, Oxford, England
| | | | - Melissa Ulloa
- New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, 82 Washington Square E, New York, NY 10003
| | - Michael P Kempeh
- A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine, University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, College of Medicine University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa
| | - Dyujay G Karnga
- A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine, University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, College of Medicine University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa
| | - Mosoka P Fallah
- A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine, University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, College of Medicine University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa.,National Public Health Institute of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia
| | | | - Benjamin Harris
- A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine, University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, College of Medicine University of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa
| | - Yadira Alonso
- Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - David C Henderson
- Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Christina Pc Borba
- Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
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Depressive symptoms among clients attending monk healers and primary care clinics in Thailand: a comparative follow-up study. Prim Health Care Res Dev 2021; 22:e38. [PMID: 34376272 PMCID: PMC8365530 DOI: 10.1017/s1463423621000475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative follow-up assessment of clients with depressive symptoms attending monk healers or primary care clinics in Thailand. Methods: Consecutively attending clients of three monk healing and three primary care centres who screened positive (a score of 9 or more) on the Primary Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 at the study site were followed up at 3 months after baseline assessment. Results: In 3 monk healer sites, 448 clients agreed to be screened with the PHQ-9 for depression, and 94 screened positive, and in 3 health centres 582 clients agreed to be screened, and 92 screened positive for depressive symptoms on the PHQ-9. In 2 monk healing sites, 79 clients (84%) were followed up at 3 months, and in 3 health centres, 79 clients (85.9%) were followed up at 3 months. At 3-month follow-up, mixed modelling found significant interaction effects (a time-by-condition interaction, i.e., between-group changes) on depression scores (P = <0.001). Depressive symptoms significantly decreased over time, but there was no significant difference in decline between the two groups. Conclusion: Clients attending monk healers decreased more in depressive scores compared to clients attending primary care centres, though there was no group effect with respect to number of depressed clients.
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van der Watt ASJ, Menze N, Moxley K, Mbanga I, Seedat S, Dass-Brailsford P. Self-identification, mode of diagnosis and treatment, and perceptions of relationships with medical providers of South African Xhosa-speaking traditional healers. Transcult Psychiatry 2021; 58:573-584. [PMID: 34082637 DOI: 10.1177/13634615211015071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
There is widespread use of traditional medicine in treating common mental disorders in South Africa. We aimed to (i) explore the self-identification of traditional healers (THs; how they refer to themselves, e.g., as healer, spiritualist, sangoma, etc.); (ii) determine if different types of THs treat different conditions (physical/psychological) or use different modes of diagnosis and treatment; (iii) identify factors that influence the willingness of THs to refer patients to biomedical hospitals; and (iv) compare TH practices between two provinces. Participants included Xhosa-speaking THs (mean age = 54.10, SD = 13.57 years) from the Western (n = 50) and Eastern (n = 68) Cape provinces. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding self-identification, mode of diagnosis/treatment, relationship with biomedical hospitals, type of condition(s) treated, and a Patient Health Questionnaire. There were significant associations between the type of TH (as self-identified) and (i) mode of diagnosis, (ii) mode of treatment, and (iii) type of condition(s) treated. Spiritualists, male THs, and THs who had previously been hospitalised for a mental disorder were more likely to treat mental disorders. THs who had previously been hospitalised for mental disorders were more likely to report a willingness to refer patients to biomedical hospitals. Findings highlight the complex practices of Xhosa-speaking THs. Collaboration between THs and mental health care professionals could be facilitated by focusing on male THs, spiritualists, and THs who have previously been hospitalised for mental illness. Future research should provide clearer operational definitions of the type of TH included.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S J van der Watt
- Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - N Menze
- Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - K Moxley
- Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - I Mbanga
- Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - S Seedat
- Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - P Dass-Brailsford
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Washington, DC, USA
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Bikker AP, Lesmana CBJ, Tiliopoulos N. The Indonesian Mental Health Act: psychiatrists' views on the act and its implementation. Health Policy Plan 2021; 36:196-204. [PMID: 33227140 DOI: 10.1093/heapol/czaa139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2014, the Indonesian government passed the Mental Health Act (MHA) to address the country's complex mental health situation. The implementation of the MHA has been slow, and little is known about how the MHA is perceived by mental healthcare providers within local settings. This study aimed to obtain insight into psychiatrists' views on the MHA, including on how it affected their clinical practice and on challenges of translating the MHA into practice. The study was conducted in Bali, and 27 psychiatrists (15 men and 12 women) participated in a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis indicated four overarching themes: raising the profile of mental health, developing a shared understanding of mental illness, integrating psychiatric practice with other services and views on implementation of the MHA into practice. Overall, the psychiatrists viewed the MHA as a step in the right direction to improve mental health services and to create awareness at local and national levels. However, there was consensus that the meaning of the MHA's concepts of mental problems and disorders were not compatible with psychiatric everyday practice or their patients' understandings. As a result, many assumed that the MHA was targeted at government and policy officials. Furthermore, there was a perceived lack of clarity on issues relating to collaborating with other services and unequal access to resources among regencies that impacted on their clinical practice in a negative way. Moreover, a few psychiatrists raised concerns that local beliefs and practices were not acknowledged in the MHA. According to the participants, mental health remained a highly political issue and without national support, mental health would remain a low priority. In conclusion, insights into providers' perspectives contribute to developing an evidence-base that can inform the implementation process of the MHA in Indonesia, and possibly elsewhere, into local level guidelines and regulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemieke P Bikker
- The Usher Institute, Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK
| | - Cokorda Bagus Jaya Lesmana
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, Jalan Diponegoro, 80114, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
| | - Niko Tiliopoulos
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Rm 448, Brennan MacCallum (A18), NSW 2006, Sydney, Australia
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Ngobe A, Semenya S, Sodi T. Psychological ailments and their treatment protocols: a case study of Swati traditional healers in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Afr Health Sci 2021; 21:884-895. [PMID: 34795748 PMCID: PMC8568258 DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v21i2.50] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evidence suggests that South African traditional healers (THs) treat various mental complaints. However, there is little literature on Swati THs' accounts on this subject. The current study therefore, sought to address this gap. METHODS Data was gathered using qualitative research methods, namely semi-structured interviews with 10 purposely sampled Swati THs practicing in the Kanyamazane peri-urban township (Mpumalanga Province, South Africa). Data was thematically analysed. RESULTS Results showed that THs treat seven psychological aliments, viz. adjustment disorders, depression, mental illness due to ancestral calling, mental illness due to bewitchment, mental illness due to breaking of taboos, psychotic disturbance and substance induced mental illness. Generally, an integrated treatment protocol was utilised by THs to treat and manage these disorders. Most of these procedures are acceptable from either folkloric or scientific viewpoint, and have demonstrated certain level of efficacy in treating mental illness. CONCLUSION Taken together, the evidence presented indicates that Swati THs use different traditional methods to manage various mental complaints. In doing so, they carry a large share of the community caseload for mental health, whilst admitting patients in their homes for extended periods of time, and also referring some (patients) for additional care within the Western health sector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia Ngobe
- University of Limpopo, Research Administration and Development
| | - Sebua Semenya
- University of Limpopo, Research Administration and Development
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Venturo-Conerly K, Roe E, Wasil A, Osborn T, Ndetei D, Musyimi C, Mutiso V, Wasanga C, Weisz JR. Training and Supervising Lay Providers in Kenya: Strategies and Mixed-Methods Outcomes☆☆☆. COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2021.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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Pham TV, Koirala R, Wainberg ML, Kohrt BA. Reassessing the Mental Health Treatment Gap: What Happens if We Include the Impact of Traditional Healing on Mental Illness? Community Ment Health J 2021; 57:777-791. [PMID: 32894398 PMCID: PMC7936992 DOI: 10.1007/s10597-020-00705-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In this Fresh Focus, we reassess what the mental health treatment gap may mean if we consider the role of traditional healing. Based on systematic reviews, patients can use traditional healers and qualitatively report improvement from general psychological distress and symptom reduction for common mental disorders. Given these clinical implications, some high-income countries have scaled up research into traditional healing practices, while at the same time in low-and middle-income countries, where the use of traditional healers is nearly ubiquitous, considerably less research funding has studied or capitalized on this phenomena. The World Health Organization 2003-2020 Mental Health Action Plan called for government health programs to include traditional and faith healers as treatment resources to combat the low- and middle-income country treatment gap. Reflection on the work which emerged during the course of this Mental Health Action Plan revealed areas for improvement. As we embark on the next Mental Health Action Plan, we offer lessons-learned for exploring potential relationships and collaborations between traditional healing and biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tony V Pham
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, 2213 Elba Street, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
- Duke Global Health Institute, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
- Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, 44616, Nepal.
| | - Rishav Koirala
- University of Oslo, Problemveien 7, 0315, Oslo, Norway
- Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, 44616, Nepal
- Brain and Neuroscience Center Nepal, Krishna Dhara Marg, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal
| | - Milton L Wainberg
- Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, 10032, USA
| | - Brandon A Kohrt
- Duke Global Health Institute, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
- Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, 44616, Nepal
- George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2120 L Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC, 20037, USA
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Musyimi CW, Ndetei DM, Evans-Lacko S, Oliveira D, Mutunga E, Farina N. Perceptions and experiences of dementia and its care in rural Kenya. DEMENTIA 2021; 20:2802-2819. [PMID: 33928810 DOI: 10.1177/14713012211014800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We aimed to explore the perceptions towards dementia and related care across three stakeholder groups in rural Kenya. METHODS A total of 38 key stakeholders (carers of persons with dementia, health care providers and the general public) participated in focus group discussions. Additional five individual interviews were held with carers. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. FINDINGS Across the three participant groups, a total of four themes were identified: (i) negative stereotypes of dementia, (ii) limited knowledge about dementia, (iii) diagnostic pathway and (iv) neglect and abuse. CONCLUSIONS We found a general lack of knowledge of dementia amongst family carers, healthcare professionals and the general public. The combination of poor awareness and ill-equipped healthcare systems leads to stigma manifested in the form of patchy diagnostic pathways, neglect and abuse. Local governments could take advantage of the existing family- and community-based systems to improve understanding of dementia nationally.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David M Ndetei
- Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation, 107854University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Sara Evans-Lacko
- 4905Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
| | | | | | - Nicolas Farina
- Centre for Dementia Studies, 12190Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK
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Why Do Patients with Mental Disorders Default Treatment? A Qualitative Enquiry in Rural Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Healthcare (Basel) 2021; 9:healthcare9040461. [PMID: 33919729 PMCID: PMC8070736 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9040461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Although treatment default by psychiatric patients or mental health care users is a global challenge, this behavior is reported to be higher in South Africa. The Manguzi District Hospital in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal Province, South Africa, experiences high rates of treatment default by psychiatric patients. The objective of this study was to determine the reasons for treatment defaulting at Manguzi Hospital, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. An explorative qualitative design, using in-depth interviews, was conducted with mental health care users who had defaulted out-patient psychiatric treatment. Twenty-one mental health care users were interviewed before data saturation was reached. Nvivo version 11 was used to analyze the qualitative data. Major themes that emerged confirmed that social factors are key contributions to treatment defaulting, and these include denial of the mental disorders; belief that they are cured; lack of, or disintegration of social support; preference for traditional medicine; and flaws in the health care system. Social determinants of treatment outcomes for mental disorders require tailor-made support systems for patients in these rural communities, which include increase in health literacy and attention to the cultural understanding of mental disorders.
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van der Watt ASJ, Biederman SV, Abdulmalik JO, Mbanga I, Das-Brailsford P, Seedat S. Becoming a Xhosa traditional healer: The calling, illness, conflict and belonging. S Afr J Psychiatr 2021; 27:1528. [PMID: 33824752 DOI: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Traditional healers (THs) are an important part of the healthcare system in sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding their training, experiences of becoming healers and their perceived roles in society is critical. Aim This study aimed to explore the experience of becoming a TH, including accepting the calling, and sheds light on how the experience is conceptualised within the cultural and communitarian context of THs. Setting This study was conducted amongst Xhosa THs in the Western Cape, South Africa. Methods In-depth phenomenological interviews (n = 4) were conducted with Xhosa THs and analysed using Giorgi's descriptive pre-transcendental Husserlian phenomenological analysis. Results The experience of becoming a TH can be summarised in the context of three units of significance: (1) the gift of healing as an illness; (2) the experience of conflict (including with their families, the church and self-conflict); and (3) the experience of belonging. Familial conflict, specifically, was fuelled by the financial burden of becoming a TH and a lack of understanding of the process. Conclusion To develop a workable model of collaboration in the future, it is crucial that mental healthcare providers develop a better understanding of the experiences of THs in becoming care providers. The findings highlight an appreciation of the challenging process of becoming a TH. Finally, further research and culturally appropriate psychoeducation can provide trainee THs and their family members with the skills and knowledge to support each other through a difficult process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberta S J van der Watt
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Sarah V Biederman
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jibril O Abdulmalik
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Irene Mbanga
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Pricilla Das-Brailsford
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Soraya Seedat
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
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Pham TV, Kaiser BN, Koirala R, Maharjan SM, Upadhaya N, Franz L, Kohrt BA. Traditional Healers and Mental Health in Nepal: A Scoping Review. Cult Med Psychiatry 2021; 45:97-140. [PMID: 32444961 PMCID: PMC7680349 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-020-09676-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Despite extensive ethnographic and qualitative research on traditional healers in Nepal, the role of traditional healers in relation to mental health has not been synthesized. We focused on the following clinically based research question, "What are the processes by which Nepali traditional healers address mental well-being?" We adopted a scoping review methodology to maximize the available literature base and conducted a modified thematic analysis rooted in grounded theory, ethnography, and phenomenology. We searched five databases using terms related to traditional healers and mental health. We contacted key authors and reviewed references for additional literature. Our scoping review yielded 86 eligible studies, 65 of which relied solely on classical qualitative study designs. The reviewed literature suggests that traditional healers use a wide range of interventions that utilize magico-religious explanatory models to invoke symbolic transference, manipulation of local illness narratives, roles, and relationships, cognitive restructuring, meaning-making, and catharsis. Traditional healers' perceived impact appears greatest for mild to moderate forms of psychological distress. However, the methodological and sample heterogeneity preclude uniform conclusions about traditional healing. Further research should employ methods which are both empirically sound and culturally adapted to explore the role of traditional healers in mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tony V Pham
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, 2301 Erwin Road, Durham, NC, 27701, USA.
- Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC, USA.
| | - Bonnie N Kaiser
- Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Anthropology and Global Health Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Rishav Koirala
- Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
- University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Brain and Neuroscience Center Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | | | | | - Lauren Franz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, 2301 Erwin Road, Durham, NC, 27701, USA
- Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC, USA
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Brandon A Kohrt
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, 2301 Erwin Road, Durham, NC, 27701, USA
- Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC, USA
- Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington, Washington, DC, USA
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Maiga Y, Sangho O, Konipo F, Diallo S, Coulibaly SDP, Sangare M, Péréon Y, Giumelli B, Sanou M, Coulibaly A, Diallo S, Daou M, Traoré Z, Albakaye M, Traoré HA, Guinto CO, Ouologem M, Kuate-Tegueu C, Bouhassira D, Cowan R, Nizard J. Neuropathic pain in Mali: The current situation, comprehensive hypothesis, which therapeutic strategy for Africa? eNeurologicalSci 2021; 22:100312. [PMID: 33537467 PMCID: PMC7841313 DOI: 10.1016/j.ensci.2021.100312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION According to the taxonomy of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP 2011), neuropathic pain (NeuP) is defined as "pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system". NeuP is currently well-defined clinically, despite a high degree of etiological variation, and it has become a significant public health problem. This work aimed to study the situation regarding NeuP in current practice in Mali, as well as to analyze the therapeutic environment of the patients. METHODOLOGY This was a retrospective and cross-sectional study, carried out in two phases: (1) compilation of the files of patients according to the ICD-11, over a period of 24 months (2) a second prospective phase regarding the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) of general practitioners and neurologists in regard to NeuP. The focus of the first phase of the study was the files of the patients who had undergone a consultation at the Gabriel Touré UHC. The second phase of the study focused on the general practitioners (Community Health Centers (comHC) of Bamako) and neurologists (Malian or not). RESULTS Over the period of the study, 7840 patients were seen in consultation in the Department of Neurology, of whom 903 for NeuP, thus amounting to a NeuP frequency of 11.5%. Women accounted for 58.9% (532/903), with a sex ratio of 1.4. Using a comparative normal law, the difference in frequency was statistically significant between males and females (p < 10-7) and between two age groups (p 〈10-3). The 49-58 years of age group was represented the most. Diabetic NeuP (21%), lumbar radiculopathies (14%), HIV/AIDS NeuP (13%), and post-stroke NeuP (11%) were the most represented. The survey among the carers revealed: a need for training, a low level of compliance with the therapeutic guidelines, and the use of traditional medicine by the patients. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION This work confirms that NeuP is encountered frequently in current practice, and its optimal management will involve specific training of carers and improvement of access to the medications recommended in this indication. In light of this issue, we revisit the debate regarding the concept of essential medications and the relevance of taking into account effective medications for the treatment of NeuP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youssoufa Maiga
- Department of Neurology, Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Technical Sciences and Technologies, Bamako, Mali
- Laboratoire de Thérapeutique (EA3826), Faculté de Médecine de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Oumar Sangho
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Technical Sciences and Technologies, Bamako, Mali
| | - Fatoumata Konipo
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Technical Sciences and Technologies, Bamako, Mali
| | - Seybou Diallo
- Department of Neurology, Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Technical Sciences and Technologies, Bamako, Mali
| | | | - Modibo Sangare
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Technical Sciences and Technologies, Bamako, Mali
| | - Yann Péréon
- Laboratoire d'Explorations Fonctionnelles, Centre de Référence Maladies Neuromusculaires Atlantique-Occitanie-Caraïbes, Hôtel-Dieu, CHU de Nantes, France
| | | | - Martin Sanou
- Faculté de Chirurgie Dentaire, Université de Nantes, France
| | - Awa Coulibaly
- Department of Neurology, Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali
| | - Salimata Diallo
- Department of Neurology, Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali
| | - Mariam Daou
- Department of Neurology, Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali
| | | | - Mohamed Albakaye
- Department of Neurology, Gabriel Touré Teaching Hospital, Bamako, Mali
| | - Hamar A. Traoré
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Technical Sciences and Technologies, Bamako, Mali
| | - Cheick Oumar Guinto
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Technical Sciences and Technologies, Bamako, Mali
| | | | - Callixte Kuate-Tegueu
- Département de Médecine Interne et Spécialités, FMSB, Université de Yaoundé 1, Cameroon
| | - Didier Bouhassira
- INSERM E-332, Centre d'Evaluation et de Traitement de la Douleur, Ambroise Paré Hospital, 9, avenue Charles de Gaulle, 92 100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France
| | - Robert Cowan
- Department of Neurology, Stanford University, California, USA
| | - Julien Nizard
- Laboratoire de Thérapeutique (EA3826), Faculté de Médecine de Nantes, Nantes, France
- Centre Fédératif Douleur Soins Palliatifs et Support, Laboratoire de Thérapeutique, CHU Nantes, Nantes, France
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Pengpid S, Peltzer K. The prevalence and correlates of substance use disorders among patients of two different treatment settings in Thailand. SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PREVENTION AND POLICY 2021; 16:10. [PMID: 33441163 PMCID: PMC7805213 DOI: 10.1186/s13011-021-00345-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Background Monk healers provide an accessible and popular service in Southeast Asia, but little is known on the substance use status of their clients. This investigation intended to assess and compare the rate and correlates of substance use disorders in two different treatment settings (monk healers = MH and primary health care = PHC) in Thailand. Methods In a cross-sectional study, 1024 patients (591 of MH and 613 of PHC) responded to screening measures of the “World Health Organization Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test Lite”, and two common mental disorders (major depression and generalized anxiety disorder) from November 2018 to February 2019. Logistic regression was used to estimate the determinants of any substance use disorder in the MH and PHC setting. Results The prevalence of substance use disorder was higher in MH clients than PHC patients: any substance use disorder 11.7% (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 9.3–14.5%) vs 5.4% (95% CI: 3.9–7.5%), tobacco use disorder 7.6% (95% CI: 5.7–9.9%) vs 2.5% (95% CI: 1.5–4.0%), alcohol use disorder 10.0% (95% CI: 8.4–13.6%) vs 4.3% (95% CI: 3.0–6.3%), any drug use disorder 4.2% (95% CI: 2.8–6.1%) vs 0.3% (95% CI: 0.08–1.3%), and any past three months drug use 8.2% (95% CI: 6.2–10.7%) vs 1.5, 95% CI: 0.8–2.8%). In adjusted logistic regression analysis, among MH clients, male sex (Adjusted Odds Ratio-AOR: 9.52, 95% Confidence Interval-CI: 5.06–17.92) was positively, and were married (AOR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.16–0.61) and high social support (AOR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.16–0.99) were negatively associated with any substance use disorder. Among PHC patients, male sex (AOR: 7.05, 95% CI: 2.99–16.63) was positively and age (AOR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98) was negatively associated with any substance use disorder. Conclusion The proportion of substance use disorders among MH attendees was more than twice that of PHC attenders in Thailand, calling for collaboration in controlling substance use disorders between the two treatment systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supa Pengpid
- ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Phutthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.,Department of Research Administration and Development, University of Limpopo, Turfloop, South Africa
| | - Karl Peltzer
- Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
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Pham TV, Koirala R, Kohrt BA. Traditional and biomedical care pathways for mental well-being in rural Nepal. Int J Ment Health Syst 2021; 15:4. [PMID: 33413540 PMCID: PMC7792081 DOI: 10.1186/s13033-020-00433-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is increasing access to mental health services in biomedical settings (e.g., primary care and specialty clinics) in low- and middle-income countries. Traditional healing continues to be widely available and used in these settings as well. Our goal was to explore how the general public, traditional healers, and biomedical clinicians perceive the different types of services and make decisions regarding using one or both types of care. METHODS We conducted in-depth interviews using a pilot tested semi-structured protocol around the subjects of belief, traditional healers, and seeking care. We conducted 124 interviews comprising 40 traditional healers, 79 general community members, and five physicians. We then performed qualitative analyses according to a grounded theoretical approach. RESULTS A majority of the participants endorsed belief in both supernatural and medical causes of illness and sought care exclusively from healers, medical practitioners, and/or both. Our findings also revealed several pathways and barriers to care that were contingent upon patient-, traditional healer-, and medical practitioner-specific attitudes. Notably, a subset of community members duplicated care across multiple, equally-qualified medical providers before seeing a traditional healer and vice versa. In view of this, the majority of our participants stressed the importance of an efficient, medically plural society. Though participants desired a more collaborative model, no consistent proposal emerged on how to bridge traditional and biomedical practices. Instead, participants offered suggestions which comprised three broad categories: (1) biomedical training of traditional healers, (2) two-way referrals between traditional and biomedical providers, and (3) open-dialogue to foster mutual understanding among traditional and biomedical providers. CONCLUSION Participants offered several approaches to collaboration between medical providers and traditional healers, however if we compare it to the history of previous attempts, education and understanding between both fields may be the most viable option in low- and middle-income contexts such as Nepal. Further research should expand and investigate opportunities for collaborative learning and/or care across not only Nepal, but other countries with a history of traditional and complimentary medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tony V Pham
- Duke Global Health Institute, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC, 27710, United States
| | - Rishav Koirala
- Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, 44616, Nepal.
- University of Oslo, Problemveien 7, Oslo, 0315, Norway.
| | - Brandon A Kohrt
- Duke Global Health Institute, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC, 27710, United States
- Brain and Neuroscience Center Nepal, Krishna Dhara Marg, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2120 L Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC, 20037, United States
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Lilford P, Wickramaseckara Rajapakshe OB, Singh SP. A systematic review of care pathways for psychosis in low-and middle-income countries. Asian J Psychiatr 2020; 54:102237. [PMID: 33271678 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Pathways to care for psychosis in high-income countries have been well studied, with the finding of an association between longer duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and poorer outcomes focusing interest on care pathways to minimise treatment delay. Little is known about how people with psychosis in low-to middle-income countries (LMIC) present for help and specific care pathways that might be associated with treatment delays in those contexts. We conducted a systematic review using electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Embase, Ovid) to explore what proportion of patients with psychosis in LMIC are accessing care through traditional healers and whether this is associated with treatment delay. Studies were included if they assessed the pathway to care for participants with a psychotic illness in a LMIC. From 3929 results, 15 studies met our inclusion criteria. In 7 out of 15 studies first contact for the majority of patients were traditional health practitioners (THPs). In 5 out of 15 studies, mental health practitioners (MHPs) were most often the initial care pathway and in 3 studies first contact was with primary care. DUP ranged from a mean of 30 weeks to 225 weeks. Accessing THPs as initial contact was associated with a longer DUP. In LMICs, a large proportion of patients use THP as their first point of contact for accessing care. This is associated with longer DUP. Services in these countries need to focus both on raising public awareness and collaborative working with THPs to facilitate access to biomedical care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippa Lilford
- Severn Postgraduate Medical Education School of Psychiatry, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Swaran Preet Singh
- Mental Health & Wellbeing, Warwick Medical School, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), United Kingdom
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White RG, McGeachan C, Miller G, Xenophontos S. "Other psychotherapies": Healing interactions across time, geography, and culture. Transcult Psychiatry 2020; 57:727-740. [PMID: 33234074 DOI: 10.1177/1363461520948997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This article introduces the special issue of Transcultural Psychiatry entitled "Other Psychotherapies": Healing Interactions across Time, Geographies, and Cultures. This special issue is intended to highlight that, rather than being exclusively a modern phenomenon, variants of psychotherapeutic practice have existed for millennia in diverse sociocultural contexts. This article explores the historical development of Western psychotherapy and points to the important contribution that Greco-Roman scholars from antiquity made to contemporary understandings of mental states and emotional wellbeing. The ways in which healing interactions have been localized to reflect the local cultural and geographic contexts are also highlighted through a discussion of recent work in psychotherapeutic geographies. This allows us to identify commonalities and differences between various forms of psychotherapy. We also consider how particular subcultures may influence the future development of psychotherapy. This article serves to foreshadow the themes that are explored in more detail in the collection of articles that make up the "Other Psychotherapies" special issue. The various articles that contribute to the special issue are introduced, and the key issues explored by these articles briefly highlighted. The intention of the special issue is to facilitate an opportunity to appreciate the ways in which psychotherapies are a product of the epoch, setting, and institutions that shape people's lives.
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Pengpid S, Peltzer K. Common mental disorders among patients attending monk healers and primary health care centres in Thailand: a cross-sectional study. Int J Ment Health Syst 2020; 14:78. [PMID: 33292410 PMCID: PMC7640706 DOI: 10.1186/s13033-020-00414-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background This study aimed to assess the rate of common mental disorders in patients consulting monk healers or health centres in Thailand. Methods Patients consecutively consulting monk healers or health centres were assessed with screening measures of three common mental disorders (major depressive, general anxiety and somatization disorder). Results The prevalence of any common mental disorder was significantly higher in patients attending monk healers (31.1%) than those attending primary care health centres (22.3%) (P < 0.001). Likewise, the prevalence of each common mental disorder was significantly higher in clients attending monk healers (major depressive disorder 21.0%, generalized anxiety disorder 8.1%, and somatization disorder 19.0%) than in patients attending health centres (major depressive disorder 15.8%, generalized anxiety disorder 3.5%, and somatization disorder 12.5%). In adjusted logistic regression analysis among patients of monk healers, female sex, being single, divorced, separated or widowed, and low social support were associated with any common mental disorder. Among patients of a health centre, lower education, not employed, high debt status and low social support were associated with any common mental disorder. Conclusion The study found a higher prevalence of common mental disorders in patients consulting monk healers than primary care centre attendees, calling for integrated management of common mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supa Pengpid
- ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Phutthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.,Department of Research Administration and Development, University of Limpopo, Turfloop, South Africa
| | - Karl Peltzer
- Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
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