Changes in rates of psychiatric beds and prison populations in sub-Saharan Africa from 1990 to 2020.

Journal: Journal of global health

Volume: 12

Issue: 

Year of Publication: 2022

Affiliated Institutions:  Medical Faculty, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile. Department of Psychology, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana. Psychiatrist, Regional Center Hospital of Fada N'gourma, Fada N'gourma, Burkina Faso. Institute for Training & Research in Population Studies, University of Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Departamento de Neurología y Psiquiatría, Clínica Alemana de Santiago, Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile. Higher Institute of Medical Techniques Mbujimayi, Mbujimayi, Democratic Republic of Congo. West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU), Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. The National University of Lesotho, Maseru, Lesotho. Zomba Mental Hospital, Ministry of Health, Zomba, Malawi. Ministry of Health, Mental Health Department, Maputo, Mozambique. Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Lagos, Nigeria. College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda. Institute of Health and Development, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal. Statistics Sierra Leone, Tower Hill, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone Psychiatric Teaching Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Alan Fisher Centre for Public Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town. Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda. Department of Psychiatry, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia. Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, Harare, Zimbabwe. Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.

Abstract summary 

Psychiatric bed numbers (general, forensic, and residential) and prison populations have been considered indicators of institutionalization. The present study aimed to assess changes of those indicators across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1990 to 2020.We retrospectively obtained data on psychiatric bed numbers and prison populations from 46 countries in SSA between 1990 and 2020. Mean and median rates, as well as percentage changes between first and last data points were calculated for all of SSA and for groups of countries based on income levels.Primary data were retrieved from 17 out of 48 countries. Data from secondary sources were used for 29 countries. From two countries, data were unavailable. The median rate of psychiatric beds decreased from 3.0 to 2.2 per 100 000 population (median percentage change = -16.1%) between 1990 and 2020. Beds in forensic and residential facilities were nonexistent in most countries of SSA in 2020, and no trend for building those capacities was detected. The median prison population rate also decreased from 77.8 to 71.0 per 100 000 population (-7.8%). There were lower rates of psychiatric beds and prison populations in low-income and lower-middle income countries compared with upper-middle income countries.SSA countries showed, on average, a reduction of psychiatric bed rates from already very low levels, which may correspond to a crisis in acute psychiatric care. Psychiatric bed rates were, on average, about one twenty-fifth of countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), while prison population rates were similar. The heterogeneity of trends among SSA countries over the last three decades indicates that developments in the region may not have been based on coordinated policies and reflects unique circumstances faced by the individual countries.

Authors & Co-authors:  Mundt Langerfeldt Maphisa Sourabié Yongsi Serri Bukasa Tshilonda Te Bitta Mathe Liwimbi Dos Santos Atilola Jansen Diegane Tine Akran Jalloh Kagee Van Wyk Forry Imasiku Chigiji Priebe

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations :  Addisu F, Wondafrash M, Chemali Z, Dejene T, Tesfaye M.Length of stay of psychiatric admissions in a general hospital in Ethiopia: a retrospective study. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2015;9:13. 10.1186/s13033-015-0006-x
Authors :  23
Identifiers
Doi : 04054
SSN : 2047-2986
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Africa South of the Sahara
Other Terms
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
Kenya
Publication Country
Scotland