Community-based mental health care in Africa: mental health workers’ views

The World Health Organization (WHO) has for long proposed the development of community-based mental health services worldwide. However, the progress toward community mental health care in most African countries is still hampered by a lack of resources, with specialist psychiatric care essentially based in large, centrally located mental hospitals. It is again time to reconsider the direction of mental health care in Africa. Based on a small inquiry to a number of experienced mental health professionals in sub-Saharan Africa, we discuss what a community concept of mental health care might mean in Africa. There is a general agreement that mental health services should be integrated in primary health care. A critical issue for success of this model is perceived to be provision of appropriate supervision and continuing education for primary care workers. The importance of collaboration between modern medicine and traditional healers is stressed and the paper ends in a plea for WHO to take the initiative and develop mental health services according to the special needs and the socio-cultural conditions prevailing in sub-Saharan Africa.     

A morbidity survey of South African primary care

Background

Recent studies have described the burden of disease in South Africa. However these studies do not tell us which of these conditions commonly present to primary care providers, how these conditions may present and how providers make sense of them in terms of their diagnoses. Clinical nurse practitioners are the main primary care providers and need to be better prepared for this role. This study aimed to determine the range and prevalence of reasons for encounter and diagnoses found among ambulatory patients attending public sector primary care facilities in South Africa.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The study was a multi-centre prospective cross-sectional survey of consultations in primary care in four provinces of South Africa: Western Cape, Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West. Consultations were coded prior to analysis by using the International Classification of Primary Care-Version 2 in terms of reasons for encounter (REF) and diagnoses. Altogether 18856 consultations were included in the survey and generated 31451 reasons for encounter (RFE) and 24561 diagnoses. Women accounted for 12526 (66.6%) and men 6288 (33.4%). Nurses saw 16238 (86.1%) and doctors 2612 (13.9%) of patients. The top 80 RFE and top 25 diagnoses are reported and ongoing care for hypertension was the commonest RFE and diagnosis. The 20 commonest RFE and diagnoses by age group are also reported.

Conclusions/Significance

Ambulatory primary care is dominated by non-communicable chronic diseases. HIV/AIDS and TB are common, but not to the extent predicted by the burden of disease. Pneumonia and gastroenteritis are commonly seen especially in children. Women''s health issues such as family planning and pregnancy related visits are also common. Injuries are not as common as expected from the burden of disease. Primary care providers did not recognise mental health problems. The results should guide the future training and assessment of primary care providers.     

HIV Self-Testing Could “Revolutionize Testing in South Africa,but It Has Got to Be Done Properly”: Perceptions of Key Stakeholders

South Africa bears the world’s largest burden of HIV with over 6.4 million people living with the virus. The South African government’s response to HIV has yielded remarkable results in recent years; over 13 million South Africans tested in a 2012 campaign and over 2 million people are on antiretroviral treatment. However, with an HIV & AIDS and STI National Strategic Plan aiming to get 80 percent of the population to know their HIV status by 2016, activists and public health policy makers argue that non-invasive HIV self-testing should be incorporated into the country HIV Counseling and Testing [HCT] portfolios. In-depth qualitative interviews (N = 12) with key stakeholders were conducted from June to July 2013 in South Africa. These included two government officials, four non-governmental stakeholders, two donors, three academic researchers, and one international stakeholder. All stakeholders were involved in HIV prevention and treatment and influenced HCT policy and research in South Africa and beyond. The interviews explored: interest in HIV self-testing; potential distribution channels for HIV self-tests to target groups; perception of requirements for diagnostic technologies that would be most amenable to HIV self-testing and opinions on barriers and opportunities for HIV-linkage to care after receiving positive test results. While there is currently no HIV self-testing policy in South Africa, and several barriers exist, participants in the study expressed enthusiasm and willingness for scale-up and urgent need for further research, planning, establishment of HIV Self-testing policy and programming to complement existing facility-based and community-based HIV testing systems. Introduction of HIV self-testing could have far-reaching positive effects on holistic HIV testing uptake, giving people autonomy to decide which approach they want to use for HIV testing, early diagnosis, treatment and care for HIV particularly among hard-to reach groups, including men.     

Recognizing intimate partner violence in primary care: Western Cape, South Africa

Introduction

Interpersonal violence in South Africa is the second highest contributor to the burden of disease after HIV/AIDS and 62% is estimated to be from intimate partner violence (IPV). This study aimed to evaluate how women experiencing IPV present in primary care, how often IPV is recognized by health care practitioners and what other diagnoses are made.

Methods

At two urban and three rural community health centres, health practitioners were trained to screen all women for IPV over a period of up to 8 weeks. Medical records of 114 thus identified women were then examined and their reasons for encounter (RFE) and diagnoses over the previous 2-years were coded using the International Classification of Primary Care. Three focus group interviews were held with the practitioners and interviews with the facility managers to explore their experience of screening.

Results

IPV was previously recognized in 11 women (9.6%). Women presented with a variety of RFE that should raise the index of suspicion for IPV– headache, request for psychiatric medication, sleep disturbance, tiredness, assault, feeling anxious and depressed. Depression was the commonest diagnosis. Interviews identified key issues that prevented health practitioners from screening.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that recognition of women with IPV is very low in South African primary care and adds useful new information on how women present to ambulatory health services. These findings offer key cues that can be used to improve selective case finding for IPV in resource-poor settings. Universal screening was not supported by this study.     

An Evaluation of the Quality of IMCI Assessments among IMCI Trained Health Workers in South Africa

Background

Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) is a strategy to reduce mortality and morbidity in children under 5 years by improving case management of common and serious illnesses at primary health care level, and was adopted in South Africa in 1997. We report an evaluation of IMCI implementation in two provinces of South Africa.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Seventy-seven IMCI trained health workers were randomly selected and observed in 74 health facilities; 1357 consultations were observed between May 2006 and January 2007. Each health worker was observed for up to 20 consultations with sick children presenting consecutively to the facility, each child was then reassessed by an IMCI expert to determine the correct findings. Observed health workers had been trained in IMCI for an average of 32.2 months, and were observed for a mean of 17.7 consultations; 50/77(65%) HW''s had received a follow up visit after training. In most cases health workers used IMCI to assess presenting symptoms but did not implement IMCI comprehensively. All but one health worker referred to IMCI guidelines during the period of observation. 9(12%) observed health workers checked general danger signs in every child, and 14(18%) assessed all the main symptoms in every child. 51/109(46.8%) children with severe classifications were correctly identified. Nutritional status was not classified in 567/1357(47.5%) children.

Conclusion/Significance

Health workers are implementing IMCI, but assessments were frequently incomplete, and children requiring urgent referral were missed. If coverage of key child survival interventions is to be improved, interventions are required to ensure competency in identifying specific signs and to encourage comprehensive assessments of children by IMCI practitioners. The role of supervision in maintaining health worker skills needs further investigation.     

Negotiating the New Health Care System in Cape Town, South Africa: Five Case Studies of the Acutely Chronically Ill

This article examines the experiences of chronically ill disadvantaged patients in a newly reformed health care system against a backdrop of inequalities still prevalent in the wider postapartheid sociopolitical economy of the Western Cape, South Africa. Patients negotiated a hierarchy of spaces at the national level of transformation and policy and at community-, secondary-, and tertiary-level facilities. The institutionalization of patients meant that expensive medical treatment was mobilized in accordance with different stages of illness and that certain services were available only to "qualifying" categories of diagnoses.     

Is affordable and cost-effective assisted reproductive technology in low-income countries possible? What should we know to answer the question?

¹ Correspondence address. E-mail: j.d.f.habbema{at}erasmusmc.nl Decision making on infertility treatment in low-income countries(LIC) assumes answers to quite a few questions: how should theinfertility problem be defined? How often does infertility occur?What is the burden-of-disease of infertility? What is the incomein LIC, and what can be spend on health care? How cheap shouldIVF be in order to be accessible to a considerable part of thepopulation? With what alternative health interventions shouldinfertility treatment be compared? How cost-effective shouldIVF be in order to compete with those other interventions? Thesequestions will be discussed. The emphasis is on the situationin Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It is concluded that a place forART in a health care package is not straightforward. Many ofthe questions are not or only partially answered. Moreover,cheap and effective ART has yet to be developed and tested.From the limited evidence available for each of the questions,it could be calculated that an IVF cycle should cost between50 and 75 dollar in order to be a candidate for the inclusionin a health package in SSA. This estimate can easily changeconsiderably when in the future the calculations will be basedon thorough research. Thus, a targeted research programme foranswering the open questions, especially on quality-of-lifeimplications of infertility in different societies, is the preferredoption for facilitating the future evaluation of ART in LIC.     

ACCESS TO TREATMENT IN HIV PREVENTION TRIALS: PERSPECTIVES FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITY

Access to treatment, in HIV vaccine trials (HVTs), remains ethically controversial. In most prevention trials, including in South Africa, participants who seroconvert are referred to publicly funded programmes for treatment. This strategy is problematic when there is inadequate and uneven access to public sector antiretroviral therapy (ART) and support resources. The responsibilities, if any, of researchers, sponsors and public health authorities involved in HVTs has been hotly debated among academics, scholars, representatives of international organizations and sponsors. However, there is little published on community perceptions. Recent guidance asserts that communities should make inputs into treatment and care decisions. This qualitative study explored a South African community's perceptions of who should provide what to HVT participants as well as how and why this should be done. Twenty‐nine adults working at or attending five primary health care clinics in two rural areas in KwaZulu‐Natal participated in in‐depth interviews. Respondents expressed that researchers should ‘help participants to access’ treatment and care ‘because they are in a position to do so’ and ‘are in a relationship with’ trial participants. Respondents suggested that researchers could help by ‘facilitating referral’ until such time that participants can access care and treatment on their own. We highlight a series of implications for researchers in HVTs, including their need to be aware of prospective participants' considerable trust in and respect for researchers, the responsibility that this places on them, and the need for clear communication with communities so as not to erode community trust.     

Towards Developing an Initial Programme Theory: Programme Designers and Managers Assumptions on the Antiretroviral Treatment Adherence Club Programme in Primary Health Care Facilities in the Metropolitan Area of Western Cape Province,South Africa

BackgroundThe antiretroviral adherence club intervention was rolled out in primary health care facilities in the Western Cape province of South Africa to relieve clinic congestion, and improve retention in care, and treatment adherence in the face of growing patient loads. We adopted the realist evaluation approach to evaluate what aspects of antiretroviral club intervention works, for what sections of the patient population, and under which community and health systems contexts, to inform guidelines for scaling up of the intervention. In this article, we report on a step towards the development of a programme theory—the assumptions of programme designers and health service managers with regard to how and why the adherence club intervention is expected to achieve its goals and perceptions on how it has done so (or not).MethodsWe adopted an exploratory qualitative research design. We conducted a document review of 12 documents on the design and implementation of the adherence club intervention, and key informant interviews with 12 purposively selected programme designers and managers. Thematic content analysis was used to identify themes attributed to the programme actors, context, mechanisms, and outcomes. Using the context-mechanism-outcome configurational tool, we provided an explanatory focus of how the adherence club intervention is roll-out and works guided by the realist perspective.ResultsWe classified the assumptions of the adherence club designers and managers into the rollout, implementation, and utilisation of the adherence club programme, constructed around the providers, management/operational staff, and patients, respectively. Two rival theories were identified at the patient-perspective level. We used these perspectives to develop an initial programme theory of the adherence club intervention, which will be tested in a later phase.ConclusionThe perspectives of the programme designers and managers provided an important step towards developing an initial programme theory, which will guide our realist evaluation of the adherence club programme in South Africa.     

Mental and Substance Use Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: Predictions of Epidemiological Changes and Mental Health Workforce Requirements for the Next 40 Years

The world is undergoing a rapid health transition, with an ageing population and disease burden increasingly defined by disability. In Sub-Saharan Africa the next 40 years are predicted to see reduced mortality, signalling a surge in the impact of chronic diseases. We modelled these epidemiological changes and associated mental health workforce requirements. Years lived with a disability (YLD) predictions for mental and substance use disorders for each decade from 2010 to 2050 for four Sub-Saharan African regions were calculated using Global Burden of Disease 2010 study (GBD 2010) data and UN population forecasts. Predicted mental health workforce requirements for 2010 and 2050, by region and for selected countries, were modelled using GBD 2010 prevalence estimates and recommended packages of care and staffing ratios for low- and middle-income countries, and compared to current staffing from the WHO Mental Health Atlas. Significant population growth and ageing will result in an estimated 130% increase in the burden of mental and substance use disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050, to 45 million YLDs. As a result, the required mental health workforce will increase by 216,600 full time equivalent staff from 2010 to 2050, and far more compared to the existing workforce. The growth in mental and substance use disorders by 2050 is likely to significantly affect health and productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce this burden, packages of care for key mental disorders should be provided through increasing the mental health workforce towards targets outlined in this paper. This requires a shift from current practice in most African countries, involving substantial investment in the training of primary care practitioners, supported by district based mental health specialist teams using a task sharing model that mobilises local community resources, with the expansion of inpatient psychiatric units based in district and regional general hospitals.     

The politics of black patients' identity: Ward-rounds on the ‘black side’ of a South African psychiatric hospital

There are many macrosocial studies of the political organisation of health and mental health care in South Africa, and the maldistribution of resources by race is well known. Little attention, however, has been given to the minutiae of the negotiation of power in the clinical setting. This article, which reports on part of a larger study of aspects of culture in South African psychiatry, focuses on interactions in ward-rounds on the Black side of a South African psychiatric hospital. Through analysis of cases, the complexity of interpreting what transpires in such a setting and the central role that the concept of culture has in debates amongst staff members are demonstrated. Close analysis demonstrates the inadequacy of models which seek to locate the institutional racism of apartheid psychiatry in the motives of individual clinicians. Clinicians may simultaneously reproduce and subvert aspects of apartheid practice. A consideration of the social positioning of the clinician both as a South African and as a practitioner of psychiatry is central to the development of psychiatry in a post-apartheid South Africa.     

Evaluation of a community-based mobile video breastfeeding intervention in Khayelitsha,South Africa: The Philani MOVIE cluster-randomized controlled trial

BackgroundIn South Africa, breastfeeding promotion is a national health priority. Regular perinatal home visits by community health workers (CHWs) have helped promote exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in underresourced settings. Innovative, digital approaches including mobile video content have also shown promise, especially as access to mobile technology increases among CHWs. We measured the effects of an animated, mobile video series, the Philani MObile Video Intervention for Exclusive breastfeeding (MOVIE), delivered by a cadre of CHWs (“mentor mothers”).Methods and findingsWe conducted a stratified, cluster-randomized controlled trial from November 2018 to March 2020 in Khayelitsha, South Africa. The trial was conducted in collaboration with the Philani Maternal Child Health and Nutrition Trust, a nongovernmental community health organization. We quantified the effect of the MOVIE intervention on EBF at 1 and 5 months (primary outcomes), and on other infant feeding practices and maternal knowledge (secondary outcomes). We randomized 1,502 pregnant women in 84 clusters 1:1 to 2 study arms. Participants’ median age was 26 years, 36.9% had completed secondary school, and 18.3% were employed. Mentor mothers in the video intervention arm provided standard-of-care counseling plus the MOVIE intervention; mentor mothers in the control arm provided standard of care only. Within the causal impact evaluation, we nested a mixed-methods performance evaluation measuring mentor mothers’ time use and eliciting their subjective experiences through in-depth interviews.At both points of follow-up, we observed no statistically significant differences between the video intervention and the control arm with regard to EBF rates and other infant feeding practices [EBF in the last 24 hours at 1 month: RR 0.93 (95% CI 0.86 to 1.01, P = 0.091); EBF in the last 24 hours at 5 months: RR 0.90 (95% CI 0.77 to 1.04, P = 0.152)]. We observed a small, but significant improvement in maternal knowledge at the 1-month follow-up, but not at the 5-month follow-up. The interpretation of the results from this causal impact evaluation changes when we consider the results of the nested mixed-methods performance evaluation. The mean time spent per home visit was similar across study arms, but the intervention group spent approximately 40% of their visit time viewing videos. The absence of difference in effects on primary and secondary endpoints implies that, for the same time investment, the video intervention was as effective as face-to-face counseling with a mentor mother. The videos were also highly valued by mentor mothers and participants. Study limitations include a high loss to follow-up at 5 months after premature termination of the trial due to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in mentor mother service demarcations.ConclusionsThis trial measured the effect of a video-based, mobile health (mHealth) intervention, delivered by CHWs during home visits in an underresourced setting. The videos replaced about two-fifths of CHWs’ direct engagement time with participants in the intervention arm. The similar outcomes in the 2 study arms thus suggest that the videos were as effective as face-to-face counselling, when CHWs used them to replace a portion of that counselling. Where CHWs are scarce, mHealth video interventions could be a feasible and practical solution, supporting the delivery and scaling of community health promotion services.Trial registrationThe study and its outcomes were registered at clinicaltrials.gov (#{"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT03688217","term_id":"NCT03688217"}}NCT03688217) on September 27, 2018.

Maya Adam and colleagues study a video intervention, delivered by community health workers, to promote breastfeeding in South Africa.     

Scaling Up Family Planning to Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality: The Potential Costs and Benefits of Modern Contraceptive Use in South Africa

Introduction

Family planning contributes significantly to the prevention of maternal and child mortality. However, many women still do not use modern contraception and the numbers of unintended pregnancies, abortions and subsequent deaths are high. In this paper, we estimate the service delivery costs of scaling up modern contraception, and the potential impact on maternal, newborn and child survival in South Africa.

Methods

The Family Planning model in Spectrum was used to project the impact of modern contraception on pregnancies, abortions and births in South Africa (2015-2030). The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) was increased annually by 0.68 percentage points. The Lives Saved Tool was used to estimate maternal and child deaths, with coverage of essential maternal and child health interventions increasing by 5% annually. A scenario analysis was done to test impacts when: the change in CPR was 0.1% annually; and intervention coverage increased linearly to 99% in 2030.

Results

If CPR increased by 0.68% annually, the number of pregnancies would reduce from 1.3 million in 2014 to one million in 2030. Unintended pregnancies, abortions and births decrease by approximately 20%. Family planning can avert approximately 7,000 newborn and child and 600 maternal deaths. The total annual costs of providing modern contraception in 2030 are estimated to be US$33 million and the cost per user of modern contraception is US$7 per year. The incremental cost per life year gained is US$40 for children and US$1,000 for mothers.

Conclusion

Maternal and child mortality remain high in South Africa, and scaling up family planning together with optimal maternal, newborn and child care is crucial. A huge impact can be made on maternal and child mortality, with a minimal investment per user of modern contraception.     

Indigenous Medicine and Primary Health Care: The Importance of Lay Knowledge and Use of Medicinal Plants in Rural South Africa

Indigenous medicine is important to rural livelihoods, but lay knowledge and use of medicinal plants has not been extensively studied. Research in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, showed that medicinal plants were frequently used by villagers and contributed to their ability to cope with health problems. Knowledge of plants and household remedies was extensive and varied in that households often held different knowledge. Villagers mainly relied on common species, and were generally aware of alternative species for a certain ailment. People were flexible in their use of indigenous and western health care, which were both perceived as beneficial. Improved cooperation between health care systems could improve health standards. Extraction of medicinal plants has been described as unsustainable in the region—a situation not found in the study area. It is argued that conservation policies aimed to restrict access should be differential and potentially not include local consumption, since this may be ecologically unnecessary and entail local hardships.     

Empowering GPs as purchasers.

FHSAs have defined their role in purchasing primary care FHSAs have also found themselves intermediaries between district health authorities and general practitioners All of the purchasing authorities recognise the need to educate general practitioners on how to use their influence in the purchasing process General practitioners should be involved in the purchasing process as they purchase the bulk of health care; are the first point of contact for the users of the health service; need to have input on what is purchased; and need to be able to manage the changes resulting from the shift in the balance of power towards primary care The involvement of general practitioners in the purchasing process at present varies considerably among health authorities. Several district health authorities have developed models of purchasing that enable different levels of involvement     

基层医疗卫生机构的基本医疗服务范围研究 ——基于常见病、多发病的视角

目的 基于常见病、多发病的视角界定基层医疗卫生机构的基本医疗服务范围。方法 以广东省A市为例,根据该市基本医疗保险参保人的微观数据,统计分析了该市的常见病、多发病,并对该市128个医疗机构进行问卷调查。结果 分别确定了社区卫生服务中心104个病种、乡镇卫生院101个病种、社区卫生服务站38个病种和村卫生室34个病种作为四类基层医疗卫生机构的基本医疗服务范围。结论 应依据四类基层医疗卫生机构的基本医疗服务范围从诊疗项目、药品目录、基层首诊制等方面进行政策调整与完善。     

Contextualising Professional Ethics: The Impact of the Prison Context on the Practices and Norms of Health Care Practitioners

Health care is provided in many contexts—not just hospitals, clinics, and community health settings. Different institutional settings may significantly influence the design and delivery of health care and the ethical obligations and practices of health care practitioners working within them. This is particularly true in institutions that are established to constrain freedom, ensure security and authority, and restrict movement and choice. We describe the results of a qualitative study of the experiences of doctors and nurses working within two women’s prisons in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Their accounts make clear how the provision and ethics of health care may be compromised by the physical design of the prison, the institutional policies and practices restricting movement of prisoners and practitioners, the focus on maintaining control and security, and the very purpose of the prison and prison system itself. The results of this study make clear the impact that context has on professional practice and illustrate the importance of sociology and anthropology to bioethics and to the development of a more nuanced account of professional ethics.     

Malaria epidemic expected in Mozambique

Health experts fear epidemics of several infectious diseases in Mozambique as floods recede and mosquitoes begin breeding. According to Pierre Kahozi of WHO, malaria is already endemic in the region but there are fears that a much greater outbreak might occur. Scores of suspected cases of cholera were reported and more are expected, along with cases of other diarrheal conditions. Neil Cameron, chief director of communicable diseases at the health department in South Africa, said that more cases are expected within a month when the breeding cycle of mosquitoes is renewed. He reported that the number of malaria cases in South Africa increased from 12,000 in 1995 to 50,000 in 1999, and a number of people had been dying from this disease. The increase could be attributed partly to climatic changes and resistance to certain drugs. DDT had been used in the past to control mosquitoes, and it?s possible that it will be used again in Mozambique. The issues involved in tackling malaria are now being considered as part of a special development initiative on infectious diseases that is being undertaken jointly by the health departments of three countries: South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland.     

High Uptake of Systematic HIV Counseling and Testing and TB Symptom Screening at a Primary Care Clinic in South Africa

Background

Timely diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV is important to reduce morbidity and mortality, and break the cycle of ongoing transmission.

Methods

We performed an implementation research study to develop a model for systematic TB symptom screening and HIV counseling and testing (HCT) for all adult clients at a primary care clinic and prospectively evaluate the 6-month coverage and yield, and 18-month sustainability at a primary care clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Results

During the first 6 months, 26,515 visits occurred among 12,078 adults. The proportion of adults aware of their HIV status was 43.7% at the start of the first visit, increased to 84.6% at the end of the first visit, and to 90% at end of any visit during the first 6 months. During these 6 months, 1042 clients were newly diagnosed with HIV. HIV prevalence was 22.9% among those newly tested, and 58.9% among all adult clinic clients. High coverage of systematic HCT was sustained across all 18 months. Coverage of systematic HIV-stratified TB symptom screening during first 6-months was also high (89.6%) but only 35.0% of those symptomatic were screened by sputum. During these 6-months, 90 clients had a positive Xpert MTB/RIF assay, corresponding to a TB prevalence of 0.4% among all 23,534 clients TB symptom-screened and 2.8% among the 3,284 clients with a positive TB symptom screen. The initial high coverage of TB symptom screening was not sustained, with coverage of TB symptom screening dropping after the first six months to 70% and assessment by sputum dropping to 15%.

Conclusion

Routine, systematic HCT and HIV-stratified TB symptom screening is feasible at primary care level. Systematic HCT doubled the proportion of clients with known HIV status. While HCT was sustainable, coverage of systematic TB screening dropped significantly after the first 6 months of implementation.