ReviewArchives of physiotherapy2018
Physiotherapy for people with mental health problems in Sub-Saharan African countries: a systematic review.
Review in Archives of physiotherapy, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Physiotherapy students' perceptions of managing patients with mental illness: A qualitative exploration at a South African university.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2026Review
- Mental health content in the physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum in South Africa.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2024Article
- South African mental healthcare providers' views about exercise for people with mental illness.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2024Article
- Physiotherapists Lack Knowledge in Mental Health: A Survey of Knowledge and Attitudes of Physical Therapists About Their Role in Mental Health.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- Physiotherapy students' knowledge and attitudes about their role in mental health.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2023Article
- Psychosocial rehabilitation of individuals with schizophrenia: a scoping review protocol.Systematic reviews · 2022Article
- The knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of physiotherapists in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, towards mental health.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is a need for psychosocial interventions to address the escalating mental health burden in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Physiotherapists could have a central role in reducing the burden and facilitating recovery within the multidisciplinary care of people with mental health problems. The aim of this systematic review was to explore the role of physiotherapists within the current mental health policies of SSA countries and to explore the current research evidence for physiotherapy to improve functional outcomes in people with mental health problems in SSA.
methodsThe Mental Health Atlas and MiNDbank of the World Health Organization were screened for the role of physiotherapy in mental health plans. Next, we systematically searched PubMed from inception until August 1st, 2017 for relevant studies on physiotherapy interventions in people with mental health problems in SSA. The following search strategy was used: "physiotherapy" OR "physical therapy" OR "rehabilitation" AND "mental" OR "depression" OR "psychosis" OR "schizophrenia" OR "bipolar" AND the name of the country.
resultsThe current systematic review shows that in 22 screened plans only 2 made reference to the importance of considering physiotherapy within the multidisciplinary treatment. The current evidence (N studies = 3; n participants = 94) shows that aerobic exercise might reduce depression and improve psychological quality of life, self-esteem, body image and emotional stress in people with HIV having mental health problems. In people with depression moderate to high but not light intensity aerobic exercise results in significantly less depressive symptoms (
conclusionsOur review demonstrated that physiotherapy is still largely neglected in the mental health care systems of SSA. This is probably due to poor knowledge of the benefits of physiotherapy within mental health care by policymakers, training institutes, and other mental health care professionals in SSA. Based on the current scientific evidence, this paper recommends the adoption of physiotherapy within mental health care services and investment in research and in training of professionals in SSA.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.