ReviewSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2026
Factors influencing referral pathways and collaboration between traditional and mental health practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.
Review in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeIn Sub-Saharan Africa, traditional and biomedical mental health systems coexist, yet referral pathways and collaboration between Traditional Health Practitioners and Mental Health Care Practitioners remain inconsistent. Understanding factors shaping these pathways is essential for improving continuity, cultural responsiveness, and access to mental health care. This scoping review aimed to map and synthesize evidence on factors influencing referral pathways and collaboration between Traditional Health Practitioners and Mental Health Care Practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa.
methodsA scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O'Malley framework, enhanced by Levac et al., and reported using PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Electronic databases, including EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched for English-language, peer-reviewed studies published between 2012 and 2025. Studies examining referral pathways, collaboration, barriers, or enablers between Traditional Health Practitioners and Mental Health Care Practitioners within Sub-Saharan Africa were included. Data were charted and synthesized using thematic analysis.
resultsNineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed barriers to collaboration and referral, including a lack of trust between practitioners, weak policy implementation, stigma, differing conceptualizations of mental illness, communication and educational gaps, resource constraints, and patient cultural preferences. Enablers included informal referral practices and practitioners' willingness to collaborate.
conclusionReferral pathways and collaboration between Traditional Health Practitioners and Mental Health Care Practitioners were influenced by systemic, relational, and cultural factors. While formal referral structures remain limited, informal collaboration and practitioner willingness present opportunities to strengthen continuity of care. Strategies to enhance culturally responsive, policy-supported collaboration are needed to improve mental health outcomes and reduce treatment gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42489896What 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.