Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

Introduction: Child and adolescent mental health is a global priority. In sub-Saharan Africa, despite the high burden, there is a gap in health services for children and adolescents with mental health disorders. To bridge this gap, healthcare workers require a good understanding of child and adolesc...

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Main Authors: Mkubwa, B, Angwenyi, V, Nzioka, B, Newton, CR, Sijbrandij, M, Abubakar, A
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: BioMed Central 2024
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author Mkubwa, B
Angwenyi, V
Nzioka, B
Newton, CR
Sijbrandij, M
Abubakar, A
author_facet Mkubwa, B
Angwenyi, V
Nzioka, B
Newton, CR
Sijbrandij, M
Abubakar, A
author_sort Mkubwa, B
collection OXFORD
description Introduction: Child and adolescent mental health is a global priority. In sub-Saharan Africa, despite the high burden, there is a gap in health services for children and adolescents with mental health disorders. To bridge this gap, healthcare workers require a good understanding of child and adolescent mental health, the right attitude, and practices geared to improving child and adolescent mental health. This scoping review examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to child and adolescent mental health among sub-Saharan African healthcare workers. Methods: The search was restricted between January 2010, the year when the Mental Health Gap Action Programme guidelines were launched, and April 2024. The review followed the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley for conducting scoping reviews. The databases searched included CINHAL, PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and grey literature databases. Additional articles were identified through cited references of the studies included. A data extraction template was used to retrieve relevant text. A narrative synthesis approach was adopted to explore the relationships within and between the included studies. Results: The literature search yielded 4658 studies. Among these, 817 were identified as duplicates, and 3740 were excluded after screening. Only twenty-one articles met the criteria for inclusion in the review. The findings showed that healthcare workers have insufficient knowledge of child and adolescent mental health, hold negative attitudes toward children and adolescents with mental health problems, and exhibit poor practices related to child and adolescent mental health. Conclusion: It is crucial to build capacity and improve healthcare workers’ practices, knowledge, and attitudes toward child and adolescent mental health in sub-Saharan Africa. This could lead to better access to mental health services for children and adolescents in the region.
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spelling oxford-uuid:877dac98-c773-4d70-af0c-b6e6f97fe8c32024-07-25T19:33:38ZKnowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping reviewJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:877dac98-c773-4d70-af0c-b6e6f97fe8c3EnglishJisc Publications RouterBioMed Central2024Mkubwa, BAngwenyi, VNzioka, BNewton, CRSijbrandij, MAbubakar, AIntroduction: Child and adolescent mental health is a global priority. In sub-Saharan Africa, despite the high burden, there is a gap in health services for children and adolescents with mental health disorders. To bridge this gap, healthcare workers require a good understanding of child and adolescent mental health, the right attitude, and practices geared to improving child and adolescent mental health. This scoping review examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to child and adolescent mental health among sub-Saharan African healthcare workers. Methods: The search was restricted between January 2010, the year when the Mental Health Gap Action Programme guidelines were launched, and April 2024. The review followed the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley for conducting scoping reviews. The databases searched included CINHAL, PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and grey literature databases. Additional articles were identified through cited references of the studies included. A data extraction template was used to retrieve relevant text. A narrative synthesis approach was adopted to explore the relationships within and between the included studies. Results: The literature search yielded 4658 studies. Among these, 817 were identified as duplicates, and 3740 were excluded after screening. Only twenty-one articles met the criteria for inclusion in the review. The findings showed that healthcare workers have insufficient knowledge of child and adolescent mental health, hold negative attitudes toward children and adolescents with mental health problems, and exhibit poor practices related to child and adolescent mental health. Conclusion: It is crucial to build capacity and improve healthcare workers’ practices, knowledge, and attitudes toward child and adolescent mental health in sub-Saharan Africa. This could lead to better access to mental health services for children and adolescents in the region.
spellingShingle Mkubwa, B
Angwenyi, V
Nzioka, B
Newton, CR
Sijbrandij, M
Abubakar, A
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review
title Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review
title_full Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review
title_fullStr Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review
title_full_unstemmed Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review
title_short Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review
title_sort knowledge attitudes and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub saharan africa a scoping review
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