Quality of care and respect of human rights in mental health services in four West African countries: collaboration between the mental health leadership and advocacy programme and the World Health Organization QualityRights initiative.

Background: Although recent reports suggest that service users in West African psychiatric facilities are exposed to poor quality of care and human rights violations, evidence is lacking on the extent and profile of specific deficits in the services provided to persons with mental health conditions.

Aims: To evaluate the quality of care and respect of human rights in psychiatric facilities in four West African countries, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, using the World Health Organization QualityRights Toolkit.

Method: Trained research workers collected information through observation, review of records and interviews with service users, caregivers and staff.