Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38572877›Full record

ArticleSouth African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care2024

A community service doctor's experiences of mental healthcare provision in rural Eastern Cape.

Divan Rall, Leslie Swartz

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

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 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Divan RallDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch. divanrallphd@gmail.com.
Leslie Swartz
Stellenbosch University · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLiterature shows that in South Africa there are insufficient resources to meet mental healthcare needs. At general or district hospital level, the non-specialist doctor is often responsible for the holistic assessment and management of mental health service users. Such situations inevitably increase doctors' care load as they are required to treat across disciplines. We highlight the particular challenges faced by a community service (CS) doctor in this context.

methodsThe presented case study formed part of a larger project that investigated public mental healthcare provision in the Eastern Cape province. Data were collected through a once-off semi-structured interview with the participant. The interview was transcribed and data analysed by utilising thematic analysis to yield results.

resultsThe study suggests that the CS doctor experiences being overloaded with duties, and feels overwhelmed in a healthcare context that lacks resources needed for service provision, which may lead to inadequate mental healthcare provision to public health service users.

conclusionHealthcare facilities in rural parts of the Eastern Cape province are in need of assistance. This in-depth account highlighted the consequences of working on the front line of a disadvantaged and under-resourced health system. The presented account can be interpreted as a cry for help by CS doctors for relevant authorities to improve access and provision of mental healthcare in the area.Contribution: The paper provides an exploration of the circumstances wherein mental healthcare is provided in rural parts of South Africa.

Indexed as

Mental Health ServicesPhysiciansDelivery of Health CareHealth FacilitiesHumansSocial Welfarecommunity service doctorEastern Capepublic mental healthcarerural mental healthcareSouth Africa.

Identifiers

PMID38572877
PMCPMC11019075
OpenAlexW4392862959

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.