A program to further integrate mental health into primary care: lessons learned from a pilot trial in Tunisia

Abstract

Back Background groundTunisia is a lower-middle-income country located in North Africa. Since the 2010-2011 Revolution, a campaign of civil resistance to protest high levels of youth unemployment, difficult living conditions, and government corruption, a rise in mental health problems, substance use disorders, and suicide attempts/deaths has been recorded. To address untreated mental health symptoms, a mental health training program was offered to primary care physicians (PCPs) working in the Greater Tunis area of Tunisia, a collaboration between members of the Tunisian Ministry of Health,

WHO mental health gap action programme (mhGAP) intervention guide: updated systematic review on evidence and impact

“…39 Sharing research findings collaboratively. 40 Resistance from faculty members. 41 Time constraints and workload.…”

Effectiveness of an educational program for reducing mental illness stigma targeting family medicine trainees in Tunisia: A quasi‐experimental study

“…Tunisia, a lower middle income country, has been facing major challenges in the mental health field, mainly during the decade succeeding the revolution (Spagnolo et al, 2019). The totality of inpatient mental health facilities is in the public sector, at the third level of patients' care.…”

“…Unlike quite often centralized mental health professionals, a broad network of primary care physicians or family medicine doctors exists in Tunisia, providing proximal care for up to 90% of the Tunisian population (Koschorke et al, 2021). Facilitating access to mental health services through the implementation of mental health care in primary settings has been a priority of the Tunisian Ministry of Health, and a national program for mental health promotion was installed (Spagnolo et al, 2019). Nevertheless, family medicine doctors still play a limited role in mental health care (Koschorke et al, 2021).…”