Observational studyAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2021
Can a brief training intervention help improve mental health service delivery in South Africa?
Observational study in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- 'The community lives on sleeping medication and antidepressant[s]….': Health care workers' experiences of mental health service provision in rural South Africa.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Primary health care nurses' mental health knowledge and attitudes towards patients and mental health care in a South African metropolitan municipality.BMC nursing · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSouth Africa faces a number of significant challenges apropos mental health service delivery, including a large treatment gap, a high rate of readmission, over-burdened specialist tertiary facilities, and slow integration of mental health into general health services. The South African National Mental Health Education Programme implemented between February 2019 and December 2019, aimed to upskill health workers to diagnose and manage mental disorders at primary and secondary levels of care.
aimThis study aimed to assess the evolution of training participants' self-reported competency in mental health care and the number of referrals made to higher levels of care as well as to reflect on the possible broader effects of the training.
settingThe programme and study were conducted in South Africa with Medical Officers and Professional Nurses working at public sector primary and secondary level health care facilities.
methodsA descriptive observational study collected data from training participants through a pre- and post-course, and 3-month follow-up survey.
resultsThe average confidence ratings for performing mental health care activities and managing mental health conditions increased from pre- to post-course, and was either maintained or increased further at 3-month follow-up. A decrease in the self-reported percentage of patients being referred to a higher level of care was observed 3-months after the training.
conclusionThe evaluation suggests that a brief training intervention such this can go a long way in increasing the confidence of primary and secondary level health care workers in managing common mental health conditions and adhering to the provisions of legislation.
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