OBJECTIVE: Primary care offers opportunities to expand children's access to mental health (MH) services, but a given practice's community context and staff attitudes may influence which integration models are feasible. The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using community-based primary care to increase access to MH services in low-income communities in Brazil. METHODS: A qualitative study was undertaken using focus groups with adolescents aged 11 to 16 (n = 46), parents (n = 40), and primary care clinicians and staff (n = 52) from public-sector health centers in 6 low-income Brazilian communities chosen for their geographic diversity. RESULTS: Parents felt they had little support in parenting and attributed much of their children's behavior and mood problems to life in violent, poor communities. Parents thought that primary care could potentially be a source of MH care, but that clinicians often seemed rushed or uninterested. Clinicians classified many child problems as issues with parenting rather than MH. Nonprofessional staff was more likely to be a source of support to parents, except at one center that had a truly integrated MH service. Adolescents reported little need for MH services. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding the role of primary care in child MH may require close attention to how parents, adolescents, and clinicians define their problems and on the causes to which they attribute them. These factors interact with differences in how centers organize MH care, and the extent to which they take advantage of patient interactions with nonprofessional staff.
OBJECTIVE: Primary care offers opportunities to expand children's access to mental health (MH) services, but a given practice's community context and staff attitudes may influence which integration models are feasible. The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using community-based primary care to increase access to MH services in low-income communities in Brazil. METHODS: A qualitative study was undertaken using focus groups with adolescents aged 11 to 16 (n = 46), parents (n = 40), and primary care clinicians and staff (n = 52) from public-sector health centers in 6 low-income Brazilian communities chosen for their geographic diversity. RESULTS: Parents felt they had little support in parenting and attributed much of their children's behavior and mood problems to life in violent, poor communities. Parents thought that primary care could potentially be a source of MH care, but that clinicians often seemed rushed or uninterested. Clinicians classified many child problems as issues with parenting rather than MH. Nonprofessional staff was more likely to be a source of support to parents, except at one center that had a truly integrated MH service. Adolescents reported little need for MH services. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding the role of primary care in child MH may require close attention to how parents, adolescents, and clinicians define their problems and on the causes to which they attribute them. These factors interact with differences in how centers organize MH care, and the extent to which they take advantage of patient interactions with nonprofessional staff.
Authors: Karen Athié; Alice Lopes do Amaral Menezes; Angela Machado da Silva; Monica Campos; Pedro Gabriel Delgado; Sandra Fortes; Christopher Dowrick Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2016-09-30 Impact factor: 2.655
Authors: Carlos Eduardo Amaral; Rosana Onocko-Campos; Pedro Renan Santos de Oliveira; Mariana Barbosa Pereira; Éllen Cristina Ricci; Mayrá Lobato Pequeno; Bruno Emerich; Roseléia Carneiro Dos Santos; Graham Thornicroft Journal: Int J Ment Health Syst Date: 2018-10-31