Barriers to accessing mental health services in The Gambia: patients’/family members’ perspectives

Abstract

This paper concerns mental health services in The Gambia. It describes local concepts, experiences and knowledge about mental illness and the implications of such beliefs and attitudes for access to mental health services. A pretested questionnaire and interview guide were administered to a sample of patients/family members. Barriers to accessing mental health services were identified. These included beliefs about the causes of mental illness; family decision-making; the scarcity and high cost of services. Obtaining access to mental health services in The Gambia is currently challenging. Importantly, increased community and family education about the causes and treatment of mental illnesses will be required to address these issues.

Exploring the barriers to mental health service utilization in the Bolgatanga Municipality: the perspectives of family caregivers, service providers, and mental health administrators

“…Caregivers expressed concerns about societal perceptions and accusations, leading some to keep their relatives with mental illness hidden from public view. This finding has been reported by several studies [ 9 , 16 , 40 ]. Interestingly, self-stigma has been reported among caregivers as one of the hindrances to the utilization of MHS [ 5 ].…”

“…Also, to better understand these barriers, the views, and experiences of stakeholders such as caregivers are invaluable. This is particularly important since in African settings caregivers tend to largely contribute to determining whether or not patients access MHS [ 16 ].…”

Exploring the motivations of mental health service utilization among family caregivers in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region, Ghana

“…Also, personal belief in the MHS is a major motivator among family caregivers in the utilization of MHS. Since they are the determinants of where mentally ill patients are sent for treatment (Barrow & Faerden, 2022), their beliefs in the service influence where they seek care for their mentally ill relatives. This has been corroborated by Devkota et al (2021) who found that the personal beliefs of Nepalese family caregivers in the MHS were a major driver in the utilization of the service.…”

“…Since they are the determinants of where mentally ill patients are sent for treatment (Barrow & Faerden, 2022), their beliefs in the service influence where they seek care for their mentally ill relatives.…”

Mental Health Advocacy in The Gambia, West Africa

“…In The Gambia, explanatory beliefs about the causes and attributions of mental illness and associated labels are stereotypical, isolating, discriminating, and stigmatizing toward those with mental health issues, which may result in mental health stigma. Empirical studies have provided a foundational understanding of the scale, nature, and lack of access to necessary mental health services (Barrow, 2016;Barrow & Faerden, 2022;Coleman et al, 2002). These studies have mentioned the need for better information on the role, association, and impact of stigma on care-seeking attitudes and as a deterrent to service utilization.…”