53 research outputs found
Medication Challenges for Patients with Severe Mental Illness: Experience and Views of Patients, Caregivers and Mental Health Care Workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
No full textManagement of patients with mental disorders is inadequate in the majority of low and middle income countries. The main treatment modality for patients with severe mental disorders in these countries is mainly pharmacological approach. Patients face many challenges in meeting medication needs. In this context, high percentages of individuals who have severe mental disorders are not treated. Regular and adequate supplies of appropriate, safe and affordable medications are some of the important aspects required for provision of quality mental health services. Psychotropic medications are an important component of holistic care that provides treatment options for those suffering from mental illnesses. In Tanzania, mental health services face many challenges including inadequate mental health care providers, infrastructure, and medication supply. Relapse is a common problem among patients attending mental health facilities. This study is aimed at exploring views and experiences of patients, caregivers and mental health care providers on the psychotropic medication in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A qualitative study was conducted, involving two focus group discussions with seven and nine caregivers in each group. Eleven in-depth interviews with four patients and seven mental health care providers at Temeke Municipality, Dar es Salaam, were conducted. Convenient sampling procedure was used to select participants for the study. Discussion and interview guides were used during data collection. Interviews were audio-recorded in Kiswahili with all study participants. The recorded interviews were transcribed and qualitative content thematic analysis was used to analyze data after translation. Four themes were identified. These include attitudes of patients towards psychotropic medication, availability of psychotropic medications, financial concerns towards psychotropic medications, and coverage of free treatment policy. The availability and affordability of psychotropic medications to patients are big problems. This was partly attributed to insufficient funds to support the budget of health facilities and technical challenges contributed by both the health facilities and other stakeholders. To improve mental health services in the country, it is important to ensure adequate supply of psychotropic medications in the health facilities. Access to psychotropic medications is essential in addressing the public health problem of untreated mental illnesses. These findings call for the government and other stakeholders to increase funding for essential psychotropic medications
Mental Health Care and Delivery System at Temeke Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
No full textLow and middle income countries face many challenges in meeting mental health needs in their regions. Treatment of patients with mental disorders is inadequate in most of these countries and majority of individuals with severe mental disorders remain untreated. The bad news is that mental health problems in these countries are on the rise due to socioeconomic challenges being faced. Regardless of guidelines and directives provided by WHO for organizing mental health services, these countries continue to face many challenges in the effort to cater for mental health needs. Such challenges include lack of human resource for mental health especially at primary health care level, inadequate training of human resource for mental health, misplacement of human resource for mental health, lack of drugs, wrong priorities, problematic insurance coverage for mental disorders, and stigma. This study aimed at exploring mental health care and delivery system at Temeke district hospital, and how services were organized to meet the increasing mental health needs of its population. A qualitative study was conducted at Temeke hospital in Dar es Salaam, involving 7 in-depth interviews with mental health care providers, 7 in-depth interviews with mentally ill patients, and 2 focus group discussions with caregivers. A convenient sampling procedure was used to select participants for the study. All interviews were audio-recorded in Kiswahili and transcribed. A qualitative Content Analysis was used to analyze data after translation with the aid of Nvivo 10 software. Three main themes were identified. These were resource challenges, environmental/system challenges, and satisfaction with mental health services. Temeke health facility faced resource and environmental/system challenges, and there were mixed feelings on satisfaction with services. Funding and priority issues were found to mainly affect delivery of appropriate services to clients. Health facilities that provide mental health services in the community need to be well equipped with necessary resources to meet the vast needs of people they serve. Having a political will, improving the health systems governance for mental health, and priority setting, are necessary to address the challenges experienced in the delivery of mental health services
Medication challenges for patients with severe mental illness: experience and views of patients, caregivers and mental health care workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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Barriers and facilitators to satisfaction with diabetes care: The perspectives of patients attending public diabetic clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
No full textBackgroundThe prevalence of diabetes has been increasing steadily over the past decade in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with about three-quarters of people living with the disease globally residing in these countries. Patient satisfaction can be used as a proxy measure of overall facility performance, and its use has been recommended for determining the quality of services provided by healthcare centres and organizations. This study aimed to explore barriers and facilitators towards satisfaction with diabetes care among patients attending public diabetic clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.MethodsA qualitative descriptive study was carried out among people with diabetes attending public diabetic clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Using a purposeful sampling technique, 35 people with diabetes were interviewed from May 2023 to July 2023 with the principles of saturation guiding sample size determination. A semi-structured face-to-face interview guide was employed in data collection. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a conventional content analysis approach after translation. NVivo 12.0 computer software was employed to organize and code the data.ResultsA total of 35 participants were enrolled in this study with a mean (±SD) age of 58.5 (±13.76) years. Four predominant themes and 12 categories were identified after data analysis including two barriers and two facilitators toward patients' satisfaction with diabetes care. Financial constraints and unfavourable clinic environments were identified as barriers. Furthermore, good provider-patient relationships and continuity of care emerged as facilitators.ConclusionBarriers and facilitators to patients' satisfaction with diabetes identified in this study are greatly determined by socio-economic and cultural conditions, highlighting the role of the healthcare delivery systems and allied stakeholders in regulatory and policy development to address the existing barriers and consolidate the proven facilitators
The psychosocial problems of families caring for relatives with mental illnesses and their coping strategies: a qualitative urban based study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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Barriers and facilitators to satisfaction with diabetes care: The perspectives of patients attending public diabetic clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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