scholarly journals Reproductive mental health risk in Nigeria: myths, facts and challenges

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 84-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abiodun O. Adewuya ◽  
Olutayo O. Aloba
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Family Structure ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Intact Family ◽  
Women's Identity ◽  
Sub Saharan

It is widely known that Africans and especially Nigerians place much emphasis on childbearing. It has been said that the effect of childbirth relates to the society and culture's response to parenthood and the existing family structure. Many rituals exist in African societies to signify the changes in women's identity, roles and status during pregnancy and following childbirth. Earlier studies have suggested that perinatal emotional distress is rare among women in sub-Saharan Africa, with the supposed intact family structure in the region acting as a protective factor.

scholarly journals Where Lies the Risk? An Ecological Approach to Understanding Child Mental Health Risk and Vulnerabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olayinka Atilola
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Vulnerability Factors ◽  
Sub Saharan

Efforts at improving child-health and development initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa had focused on the physical health of children due to the neglect of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) policy initiatives. A thorough and broad-based understanding of the prevalent child mental-health risk and vulnerability factors is needed to successfully articulate CAMH policies. In this discourse, we present a narrative on the child mental-health risk and vulnerability factors in sub-Saharan Africa. Through an ecological point of view, we identified widespread family poverty, poor availability and uptake of childcare resources, inadequate community and institutional childcare systems, and inadequate framework for social protection for vulnerable children as among the risk and vulnerability factors for CAMH in the region. Others are poor workplace policy/practice that does not support work-family life balance, poor legislative framework for child protection, and some harmful traditional practices. We conclude that an ecological approach shows that child mental-health risks are diverse and cut across different layers of the care environment. The approach also provides a broad and holistic template from which appropriate CAMH policy direction in sub-Saharan Africa can be understood.

scholarly journals Positioning for success: building capacity in academic competencies for early-career researchers in sub-Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Merritt ◽  
H. Jack ◽  
W. Mangezi ◽  
D. Chibanda ◽  
M. Abas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Academic Competencies ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background. Capacity building is essential in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to address the gap in skills to conduct and implement research. Capacity building must not only include scientific and technical knowledge, but also broader competencies, such as writing, disseminating research and achieving work–life balance. These skills are thought to promote long-term career success for researchers in high-income countries (HICs) but the availability of such training is limited in LMICs. Methods. This paper presents the contextualisation and implementation of the Academic Competencies Series (ACES). ACES is an early-career researcher development programme adapted from a UK university. Through consultation between HIC and LMIC partners, an innovative series of 10 workshops was designed covering themes of self-development, engagement and writing skills. ACES formed part of the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI), a multi-national LMIC-led consortium to recruit, train, support and network early-career mental health researchers from four sub-Saharan African countries. Results. Of the 10 ACES modules, three were HIC-LMIC co-led, four led by HIC facilitators with LMIC training experience and three led by external consultants from HICs. Six workshops were delivered face to face and four by webinar. Course attendance was over 90% and the delivery cost was approximately US$4500 per researcher trained. Challenges of adaptation, attendance and technical issues are described for the first round of workshops. Conclusions. This paper indicates that a skills development series for early-career researchers can be contextualised and implemented in LMIC settings, and is feasible for co-delivery with local partners at relatively low cost.

scholarly journals Relationships with caregivers and mental health outcomes among adolescents living with HIV: a prospective cohort study in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulia Shenderovich ◽  
Mark Boyes ◽  
Michelle Degli Esposti ◽  
Marisa Casale ◽  
Elona Toska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Positive Caregiving ◽  
Living With Hiv

Abstract Background Mental health problems may impact adherence to anti-retroviral treatment, retention in care, and consequently the survival of adolescents living with HIV. The adolescent-caregiver relationship is an important potential source of resilience. However, there is a lack of longitudinal research in sub-Saharan Africa on which aspects of adolescent-caregiver relationships can promote mental health among adolescents living with HIV. We draw on a prospective longitudinal cohort study undertaken in South Africa to address this question. Methods The study traced adolescents aged 10–19 initiated on antiretroviral treatment in government health facilities (n = 53) within a health district of the Eastern Cape province. The adolescents completed standardised questionnaires during three data collection waves between 2014 and 2018. We used within-between multilevel regressions to examine the links between three aspects of adolescent-caregiver relationships (caregiver supervision, positive caregiving, and adolescent-caregiver communication) and adolescent mental health (depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms), controlling for potential confounders (age, sex, rural/urban residence, mode of infection, household resources), n=926 adolescents. Results Improvements in caregiver supervision were associated with reductions in anxiety (0.98, 95% CI 0.97–0.99, p=0.0002) but not depression symptoms (0.99, 95% CI 0.98–1.00, p=.151), while changes in positive caregiving were not associated with changes in mental health symptoms reported by adolescents. Improvements in adolescent-caregiver communication over time were associated with reductions in both depression (IRR=0.94, 95% CI 0.92–0.97, p<.0001) and anxiety (0.91, 95% CI 0.89–0.94, p<.0001) symptoms reported by adolescents. Conclusions Findings highlight open and supportive adolescent-caregiver communication and good caregiver supervision as potential factors for guarding against mental health problems among adolescents living with HIV in South Africa. Several evidence-informed parenting programmes aim to improve adolescent-caregiver communication and caregiver supervision, and their effect on depression and anxiety among adolescents living with HIV should be rigorously tested in sub-Saharan Africa. How to improve communication in other settings, such as schools and clinics, and provide communication support for caregivers, adolescents, and service providers through these existing services should also be considered.

scholarly journals Public health and research funding for childhood neurodevelopmental disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: a time to balance priorities

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muideen O. Bakare ◽  
Kerim M. Munir ◽  
Mashudat A. Bello-Mojeed
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Under Five ◽  
Mortality Index ◽  
Sub Saharan

Sub-Saharan African (SSA) population consists of about 45% children, while in Europe and North America children population is 10- 15%. Lately, attention has been directed at mitigating childhood infectious and communicable diseases to reduce under-five mortality. As the under-five mortality index in Sub-Saharan Africa has relatively improved over the last two decades, more Sub-Saharan African children are surviving beyond the age of five and, apparently, a sizeable percentage of this population would be living with one or more childhood neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). The distribution of child mental health service resources across the world is unequal. This manifests in the treatment gap of major childhood onset mental health problems in SSA, with the gap being more pronounced for childhood NDD. It is important to balance the public health focus and research funding priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa. We urgently need to define the burden of childhood NDD in the region for healthcare planning and policy formulation.

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