Background: Online therapies have been shown to be effective in improving students' mental health. They are cost-effective and therefore have particular advantages in low-income countries like Zambia where mental health resources are limited. This study aimed to explore the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the feasibility of implementing an Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) intervention ('moodgym') to improve resilience in vulnerable Zambian students.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Health protective behaviours are crucial in the prevention of the spread of COVID-19, particularly in university students who typically live and study in large groups. Depression and anxiety are common in students and can impact young people's motivations to follow health advice. The study aims to assess the relationship between mental health and COVID-19 health-protective behaviours in Zambian university students with symptoms of low mood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere has been a sharp increase in the use of digital health interventions in global health, particularly mobile health applications, in recent years. The extreme shortage of health care providers trained in mental health screening and intervention in low- and middle-income countries raises questions about the applicability of mobile applications to deliver these services due to their accessibility and availability. This exploratory paper describes the development and feasibility assessment of a mobile screening application for the detection of mental disorders among adolescents in Zambia and South Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Zambia is facing a chronic shortage of health care workers. The paper aimed at understanding how the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) program facilitated strengthening and expanding of the national capacity and quality of medical education as well as processes for retaining faculty in Zambia.
Methods: Data generated through documentary review, key informant interviews and observations were analyzed using a thematic approach.
Zambia is facing a crisis in its human resources for health, with deficits in the number and skill mix of health workers. The University of Zambia School of Medicine (UNZA SOM) was the only medical school in the country for decades, but recently it was joined by three new medical schools--two private and one public. In addition to expanding medical education, the government has also approved several allied health programs, including pharmacy, physiotherapy, biomedical sciences, and environmental health.
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