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- Title
Knowledge, confidence, and practices of clinical associates in the management of mental illness.
- Authors
Moodley, Saiendhra V.; Wolvaardt, Jacqueline; Grobler, Christoffel
- Abstract
Background: Additional human resources are needed to provide mental health services in underserved areas in South Africa (SA). Clinical associates, the mid-level medical worker cadre in SA, could potentially be used to deliver these services. Aim: The study explored the self-reported knowledge, confidence, and current practices of clinical associates related to mental health assessment and management. Setting: South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The link to the electronic questionnaire was distributed to clinical associates via databases and social media. Data were analysed with Stata v17. Results: Of the 209 participants, 205 (98.1%) indicated they had training on management of patients with mental illness during their undergraduate degree and 192 (91.9%) had a mental health rotation. Few (10.7%) had any additional mental health training. Most participants rated their knowledge of priority mental disorders as 'good' or 'excellent'. Only 43.2% of the participants felt quite or very confident to perform a mental health examination. Participants who felt quite or very confident to manage patients presenting with suicide risk, aggression, and confusion were 44.9%, 46.9% and 53.1%, respectively. Factors associated with a confidence score of 75% and higher were male gendered, working in Gauteng or Northern Cape provinces, and in a rural area. The majority of participants were already involved in mental health assessment and management in their current work. Conclusion: Clinical associates have a contribution to make in mental health service provision, but this may need to be supplemented by additional practical training. Contribution: Potential gaps in training have been identified.
- Subjects
SOUTH Africa; GAUTENG (South Africa); NORTHERN Cape (South Africa); MENTAL health services; MENTAL illness; PEOPLE with mental illness; HEALTH service areas; SUICIDE risk factors
- Publication
SAJIP: South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 2023, Vol 49, p1
- ISSN
0258-5200
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v29i0.2074