The findings demonstrated that the ASSIST is a valid screening test for identifying psychoactive substance use in individuals who use a number of substances and have varying degrees of substance use.

Living conditions and poverty are two common quantifiers or parameters of socioeconomic status and both have evolved from rather narrow economic and material concepts to encompass broader and more complex understandings.According to Heiberg and Øvensen (1993), studies on living conditions have evolved to include individuals' capabilities and how they utilise their capabilities. Likewise, the concept of poverty has expanded beyond a derived level of income or accumulation of material goods whereby 'poverty is now seen as the inability to achieve certain standards', poor people 'often lack adequate food, shelter, education, and health care', and 'they are poorly served by institutions of the state and society' (Wolfensohn and Bourguignon, 2004, p 4). The two concepts are not interchangeable, however; they stem from different research traditions and differ in use both for research and for practical purposes. While poverty research has focused on defining poverty and establishing poverty profiles, identifying poor populations and strategies for reducing poverty, studies on living conditions are based on more loosely bound sets of indicators that are applied to measure, for example, level of income, education, access to information, access to healthcare and social participation in a population, and to establish differences between population sub-groups for descriptive, comparative and monitoring purposes. Poverty is both a more general and complex phenomenon than living conditions, and the field of poverty research has recently been characterised as 'polyscopic', indicating that we are dealing with a multifaceted umbrella term and a conglomerate of perspectives and methods (Øyen, 2005). Surveys of living conditions in a population can, however, provide indicators on poverty and disability, and, if properly designed, they can be applied to study poverty mechanisms, poverty development and trends in a population, as well as contributing to decisions that may be applied to poverty alleviation. In this chapter data collected on the living conditions among people with and without disabilities in the southern African region will be utilised to assess the disability-poverty relationship.

No abstract

Despite the need to improve the quantity and quality of psychiatry training in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), very little is known about the experiences of psychiatric trainees in the region. This is the first study examining psychiatric trainees in a low-income country in SSA. It was carried out as part of the needs assessment for a unique Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) programme to find African solutions for medical shortages in Africa. We approached all doctors who had trained in post-graduate psychiatry in Zimbabwe in 2010 and conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with all except one (n = 6). We analysed the data using constant comparison and thematic analysis. Trainees described the apprenticeship model as the programme's primary strength, through providing clinical exposure and role models. Programme weaknesses included shortages in information sources, trainee salaries, trainers, public health education, and in the mental health service. Most respondents were, however, eager to continue practising psychiatry in Zimbabwe, motivated by family ties, national commitment and helping vulnerable, stigmatized individuals. Respondents called for sub-speciality training and for infrastructure and training to do research. Resources need to be made available for psychiatric trainees in more SSA settings to develop public health competencies. However, investment in psychiatry training programmes must balance service provision with trainees' educational needs. Directing investment towards needs identified by trainees may be a cost-effective, context-sensitive way to increase retention and learning outcomes.

Living conditions and poverty are two common quantifiers or parameters of socioeconomic status and both have evolved from rather narrow economic and material concepts to encompass broader and more complex understandings.According to Heiberg and Øvensen (1993), studies on living conditions have evolved to include individuals' capabilities and how they utilise their capabilities. Likewise, the concept of poverty has expanded beyond a derived level of income or accumulation of material goods whereby 'poverty is now seen as the inability to achieve certain standards', poor people 'often lack adequate food, shelter, education, and health care', and 'they are poorly served by institutions of the state and society' (Wolfensohn and Bourguignon, 2004, p 4). The two concepts are not interchangeable, however; they stem from different research traditions and differ in use both for research and for practical purposes. While poverty research has focused on defining poverty and establishing poverty profiles, identifying poor populations and strategies for reducing poverty, studies on living conditions are based on more loosely bound sets of indicators that are applied to measure, for example, level of income, education, access to information, access to healthcare and social participation in a population, and to establish differences between population sub-groups for descriptive, comparative and monitoring purposes. Poverty is both a more general and complex phenomenon than living conditions, and the field of poverty research has recently been characterised as 'polyscopic', indicating that we are dealing with a multifaceted umbrella term and a conglomerate of perspectives and methods (Øyen, 2005). Surveys of living conditions in a population can, however, provide indicators on poverty and disability, and, if properly designed, they can be applied to study poverty mechanisms, poverty development and trends in a population, as well as contributing to decisions that may be applied to poverty alleviation. In this chapter data collected on the living conditions among people with and without disabilities in the southern African region will be utilised to assess the disability-poverty relationship.