Background: This study complements the growing amount of research on the psychosocial impact of war on children in Sierra Leone by examining local perceptions of child mental health, formal and informal care systems, help-seeking behaviour and stigma.
Methods: The study combined: (1) a nationwide survey of mental health care providers, with (2) exploratory qualitative research among service users and providers and other stakeholders concerned with child and adolescent mental health, with a particular emphasis on local explanations and stigma.
Results: Formal mental health care services are extremely limited resulting in an estimated treatment gap of over 99.8 %. Local explanations of child mental health problems in Sierra Leone are commonly spiritual or supernatural in nature, and associated with help-seeking from traditional healers or religious institutions. There is a considerable amount of stigma related to mental disorders, which affects children, their caregivers and service providers, and may lead to discrimination and abuse.
Conclusions: Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) care development in Sierra Leone should cater to the long-term structural effects of war-violence and an Ebola epidemic. Priorities for development include: (1) the strengthening of legal structures and the development of relevant policies that strengthen the health system and specifically include children and adolescents, (2) a clearer local distinction between children with psychiatric, neurological, developmental or psychosocial problems and subsequent channelling into appropriate services (3) supplementary CAMH training for a range of professionals working with children across various sectors, (4) specialist training in CAMH, (5) integration of CAMH care into primary health care, education and the social welfare system, (6) further research on local explanations of child mental disorders and the effect they have on the well-being of the child, and (7) a careful consideration of the role of religious healers as care providers.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4924306 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13033-016-0080-8 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The relationship between information literacy and online learning engagement: a moderated mediating model.
BMC Psychol
December 2024
Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696, Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang, 330063, China.
Purpose: This study aims to examine how college students' information literacy affects their online learning engagement and what factors contribute to this relationship.
Method: The research adopted the method of cluster sampling to deliver a questionnaire survey to a sample of 1421 students' representative of four colleges. Information Literacy Scale, Online Learning Engagement Scale, Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale, and Psychological Resilience Scale were utilized in this study.
The association between social support and postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
December 2024
School of Nursing, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Background: Postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition that can arise following childbirth. Despite a growing body of research on postpartum mental health, the relationship between social support and postpartum PTSD remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between social support and postpartum PTSD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlexithymia in Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-analysis.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry
December 2024
HM CINAC (Centro Integral de Neurociencias Abarca Campal) (RFF, CDTP, CGS), Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales. Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria HM Hospitales (RFF, CDTP, CGS), Madrid, Spain; Network Center for Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) (CGS), Instituto Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; University CEU-San Pablo (CGS), Madrid, Spain. Electronic address:
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor manifestations, including alexithymia. This condition is defined by difficulty in recognizing, articulating, and expressing one's emotional states. In this study, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the prevalence of alexithymia in PD patients and a healthy population, and to identify associated demographic and clinical factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA systematic review of the comparative effects of sound and music interventions for intensive care unit patients' outcomes.
Aust Crit Care
December 2024
Department of Music, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology (CCE), Department of Performing Arts, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, University for Development Studies, Ghana; Department of Music, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta, 3-98 Fine Arts Building, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2C9, Canada. Electronic address:
Background: Despite syntheses of evidence showing efficacy of music intervention for improving psychological and physiological outcomes in critically ill patients, interventions that include nonmusic sounds have not been addressed in reviews of evidence. It is unclear if nonmusic sounds in the intensive care unit (ICU) can confer benefits similar to those of music.
Objective: The aim of this study was to summarise and contrast available evidence on the effect of music and nonmusic sound interventions for the physiological and psychological outcomes of ICU patients based on the results of randomised controlled trials.
Disrupted brain networks underlying high-fidelity memory retrieval in subjective cognitive decline: A task-based fMRI study.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
Center on Aging Psychology, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is linked to memory complaints and disruptions in certain brain regions identified by molecular imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. However, it remains unclear how these regions interact to contribute to both subjective and potential objective memory issues in SCD.
Methods: To address this gap, task-based imaging studies are essential.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!