Barriers to mental health services utilization in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria: service users' perspectives.

Introduction: There is only one neuro-psychiatric hospital for over four million people in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Low-income groups in urban and rural areas who access care through public mental health clinics are at greater risk of not accessing the needed mental health care. This study aimed to explored barriers that prevent people from utilizing mental health services, and to identifies key factors to increase access and improved service delivery.

Mental health care policy environment in Rivers State: experiences of mental health nurses providing mental health care services in neuro-psychiatric hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Background: Mental health services for Rivers State and surrounding States in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria are provided only at the neuropsychiatric Rumuigbo Hospital in Port Harcourt City, Rivers State, Nigeria. The study explored mental health nurses' experiences of providing mental health services at the hospital in an attempt to understand policy implications, identify difficulties and challenges of delivering mental health care services.

Methods: A qualitative study using in-depth interview was conducted among 20 mental health nurses working at the neuropsychiatric Rumuigbo Hospital.

Caregiving experiences of families of persons with serious mental health problems in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Mental health services are provided at Rumuigbo Hospital, a single facility that renders psychiatric services in Rivers State and surrounding states in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Psychiatric services are not provided at primary health-care clinic or district hospitals, and access to this service can be problematic for many caregivers due to the time and costs involved. Therefore, this study explored the family caregiving experiences of persons with serious mental health problems in terms of the mental health-care policy and health systems environment.