Perceived barriers and facilitators for healthy behaviours among parents of adolescents receiving mental health care in a public hospital in Cape Town, South Africa: A qualitative study

Background Despite the rapid adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) resulting from the reimbursement program of the US government, EHR adoption in behavioral hospitals is still slow, and there remains a lack of evidence regarding barriers and facilitators to the implementation of mental health care EHRs. Objective The aim of this study is to analyze the experience of mental health professionals to explore the perceived barriers, facilitators, and critical ideas influencing the implementation and usability of a mental health care EHR. Methods In this phenomenological qualitative study, we interviewed physicians, nurses, pharmacists, mental health clinicians, and administrative professionals separately at 4 behavioral hospitals in the United States. We conducted semistructured interviews (N=43) from behavioral hospitals involved in the adoption of the mental health care EHR. Purposeful sampling was used to maximize the diversity. Transcripts were coded and analyzed for emergent domains. An exploratory data analysis was conducted. Results Content analyses revealed 7 barriers and 4 facilitators. The most important barriers to implementing the mental health care EHR were the low levels of computer proficiency among nurses, complexity of the system, alert fatigue, and resistance because of legacy systems. This led to poor usability, low acceptability, and distrust toward the system. The major facilitators to implementing the mental health care EHR were well-executed training programs, improved productivity, better quality of care, and the good usability of the mental health care EHR. Conclusions Health care professionals expected to enhance their work productivity and interprofessional collaboration by introducing the mental health care EHR. Routine education for end users is an essential starting point for the successful implementation of mental health care EHR electronic decision support. When adopting the mental health care EHR, managers need to focus on common practices in behavioral hospitals, such as documenting structured data in their organizations and adopting a seamless workflow of mental health care into the system.

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Adolescent mothers: A qualitative study on barriers and facilitators to mental health in a low-resource setting in Cape Town, South Africa

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine ◽

10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2279 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sally Field ◽

Zulfa Abrahams ◽

Simone Honikman

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

South Africa ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Adolescent Mothers ◽

Cape Town ◽

Barriers And Facilitators ◽

Low Resource ◽

Resource Setting ◽

Low Resource Setting

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A Qualitative Study of Barriers and Facilitators to Transitions From the Emergency Department to Outpatient Mental Health Care

Psychiatric Services ◽

10.1176/appi.ps.202000299 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. appi.ps.2020002

Author(s):

Elizabeth Reisinger Walker ◽

Julia Fukuda ◽

Megan McMonigle ◽

Julie Nguyen ◽

Benjamin G. Druss

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Emergency Department ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Barriers And Facilitators ◽

Outpatient Mental Health

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Rural realities in service provision for substance abuse: a qualitative study in uMkhanyakude district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

South African Family Practice ◽

10.4102/safp.v59i3.4715 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 59 (3) ◽

pp. 55

Author(s):

D M Mpanza ◽

P Govender

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

South Africa ◽

Health Care ◽

Substance Abuse ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Service Delivery ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Service Providers ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Kwazulu Natal

Background: Substance abuse is recognised as a worldwide concern, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality in South Africa. There is minimal research that has considered influences in mental health care service delivery in rural and disadvantaged communities in South Africa. Methods: A qualitative study with substance abuse service providers in uMkhanyakude rural district of KwaZulu-Natal was undertaken to gain insight into the experiences and challenges in service delivery. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders (n = 29) in the rural district. Results: The findings of the study suggest that service providers experience challenges in service delivery in this rural area. The effects of culture (amarula festival and ancestral worship) exacerbate the use of substances; the high rate of unemployment and poverty lead to the produce of home-brewed substances for sustainable living; a lack of resources poses threats to service delivery; the poor prioritisation of mental health care services and a lack of monitoring and evaluation of services in the district were highlighted. Conclusions: Despite this being a single district study, findings reflect the need for a district, provincial and national standard for substance abuse rehabilitation services in addition to the improvement of monitoring and evaluation for quality improvement. There is also a need to respond to the gaps that exist in after-care and community-based or decentralised substance abuse services that are essential in such areas, which are under-resourced despite the high prevalence of substance users. (Full text of the research articles are available online at www.medpharm.tandfonline.com/ojfp) S Afr Fam Pract 2017; DOI: 10.1080/20786190.2016.1272232

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