Mobile Health for Mental Health in West Africa: The Case for Ghana.

Journal: Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)

Volume: 69

Issue: 7

Year of Publication: 2019

Affiliated Institutions:  Dr. Ben-Zeev, who is editor of this column, is with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle.

Abstract summary 

Although underdeveloped in mental health care, the sub-Saharan country of Ghana is advanced in telecommunications. In this context, innovative mobile health (mHealth) approaches may help to overcome limited infrastructure (lack of clinics, trained professionals, and landlines) and to address significant unmet public mental health needs. The Technology in Mental Health editor reports on travels to Ghana to assess the viability of mHealth for mental health initiatives in the region. He found that stakeholders from all sectors (patients, providers, government officials, and traditional and faith healers) were open to exploring whether mHealth approaches could promote more humane care, reduce human rights violations, and improve the clinical outcomes of those in need. mHealth strategies that use audio and video content to overcome barriers associated with limited literacy may be most suitable. To succeed, any mHealth model must be culturally and contextually adapted to fit the needs, beliefs, and capacities of Ghanaian users.

Authors & Co-authors:  Ben-Zeev Dror D

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations : 
Authors :  1
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1176/appi.ps.201700555
SSN : 1557-9700
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Ghana
Other Terms
Global Mental health;Human rights;Mobile health
Study Design
Case Study,Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
Ghana
Publication Country
United States