ArticleSouth African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care2024
Mental illness attitudes, service provision interest and further training preferences of clinical associates.
Article in South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Siyakhana: A hybrid type 2 effectiveness-implementation stepped-wedge trial to reduce stigma towards substance use and depression among community health workers in HIV/TB care in South Africa.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Trial
- Australian Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Units' Mental Health Nurses' Attitudes Towards Consumers With Mental Illness: A Survey Analysis.International journal of mental health nursing · 2026Article
- Utilising clinical associates to address mental health service provision challenges in South Africa: the views of healthcare managers and providers.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Developing mental health curricula and a service provision model for clinical associates in South Africa: a Delphi survey of family physicians and psychiatrists.BMC medical education · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNon-specialist health professionals are required to provide mental health services given the burden of disease due to mental illness. The study aimed to explore the attitudes of clinical associates towards those with mental illness as well as their interest in mental health work and additional mental health training.
methodsA cross-sectional study design was utilised. The study population consisted of clinical associates based in South Africa. An electronic questionnaire was developed that incorporated the 16-item Mental Illness Clinicians' Attitudes version 4 scale (MICA-4), which is scored out of 96 with higher scores indicating more stigmatising attitudes. Multivariate linear regression was used to determine factors associated with the MICA-4 score.
resultsThe mean MICA-4 score for the 166 participants who completed all 16 questions was 37.55 (standard deviation 7.33). In multivariate analysis, the factors associated with significantly lower MICA-4 scores were falling in the 25- to 29-year-old age category and indicating that a mental health rotation formed part of the undergraduate degree. More than 80% of the participants (140/167, 83.8%) indicated an interest in mental health work. Two-thirds of the participants (111/167, 66.5%) indicated an interest in a specialisation in mental health.
conclusionThe mean MICA-4 score recorded for clinical associates indicates low stigma levels towards those with mental illness. Additionally, there is significant interest in working and training in mental health.Contribution: Training programmes should take note of the contribution of a mental health rotation to a positive attitude to mental health patients. Clinical associates' attitudes towards mental illness together with their interest in working and training in mental health suggest that they could be more widely utilised in mental health service provision.
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