Scaling up mental health services in Sudan: Sudanese psychiatrists’ opinions

Osman, Abdelgadir H.; Bakhiet, Aisha Motwakil; Elmusharaf, Samia; Omer, Abdelaziz A.; Abdelrahman, Abdalla

doi:10.1192/bji.2020.17

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Theoretically, mental health services in Khartoum were organized in terms of geographical (i.e., catchment areas) service areas. However, the structure was strongly centralized [ 18 ]. Khartoum state was divided into three major cities, Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The CAMH services are located only in Khartoum and Gezira states (both are middle states in Sudan). Within the Khartoum state, CAMH services are theoretically provided at all health service levels [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: The Mental Health System In Sudanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, all candidates should spend three to six months on child and adolescent psychiatry during the training period, focusing on outpatient cases. While the country has witnessed a significant increase in the number of mental health professionals, over the past two decades, until 2019, 178 graduates have become specialists in psychiatry, 75% of whom have since emigrated, primarily to work in the Gulf States [ 18 ]. Unfortunately, there are no available preliminary data regarding the number of psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and social workers in postgraduate programmes [ 21 ].…”

Section: The Mental Health System In Sudanmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Child and adolescent mental health services in Khartoum State, Sudan: a desktop situational analysis

Abdalhai,

Mokitimi,

de Vries

2024

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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Background Sudan is a Northeast African country, with 61.7% of its population under 24 years. With a large youth population and significant cultural and linguistic diversity, Sudan, like most low-income countries, has contributed minimal data to global child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) research. This study aimed to perform the first ever situational analysis of CAMH services and systems in Khartoum State, Sudan. Methods The study focused on Khartoum state and covered the calendar years 2019 and 2020. Using the World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) version 2.2 adapted for CAMH, the study focused on the publically available data sources. Findings were described and presented in tables and figures using the WHO-AIMS template. Results The situational analysis found no CAMH-specific policies, no separate budget for CAMH, and no supervising body for CAMH services in Khartoum. Three tertiary mental health hospitals provided CAMH services, all combined with adult mental health services. Essential medicines were available in all facilities, except methylphenidate available only in 3 central pharmacies. There was no free access to essential psychotropic drugs for children and adolescents except in emergency settings. Data about training to primary healthcare providers and the process of referral to specialized services were limited. A school mental health programme existed which provided early identification and management of CAMH problems in schools. The workforce was small and variable across all levels of care. No formal public health awareness campaigns and little evidence of formal intersectoral collaboration on CAMH were identified. A health information system existed, but no CAMH-specific items were reported. Among a handful of publications on CAMH, no national studies on CAMH were identified. Conclusions This situational analysis represented the first systematic collation of data and information about CAMH in Sudan. Findings highlighted some areas of strength, but also many gaps in CAMH services and systems. We acknowledge the need to complement the desktop analysis with in-depth data collection with stakeholders across multiple levels, but hope that this will serve as a first step towards strengthening CAMH services in Sudan and other low-income countries.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Mental Health System In Sudanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Mental Health System In Sudanmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Child and adolescent mental health services in Khartoum State, Sudan: a desktop situational analysis

Abdalhai,

Mokitimi,

de Vries

2024

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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“…16 Moreover, the most recent revision of Sudan's mental health policy from 2008 revealed a significant shortage of mental health professionals, with an estimated 0.92 employees working in mental healthcare facilities, including those in the private sector. 17 Teachers working with autistic children are considered the first line of support for those children and their families because they spend the most time with them, understand their needs and requirements, and use all the opportunities available to help and develop them. Therefore, interest in this category should be great, with training chances available.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sign language in autistic spectrum disorders children: special education teachers’ attitudes and experience

Eltyeb

2023

Int J Res Med Sci

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Background: There is evidence that sign language can help autistic children communicate more effectively. The present study aimed to assess the attitude and experience of special education school teachers toward sign language use in autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and to explore the associated variables that influence positive attitudes. Methods: A cross-sectional study includes fifty-three teachers working with special education children. A conventional online survey was distributed to uncover the primary ideals of teachers’ attitudes toward using sign language by ASD children. The scores in the attitude domain were typically distributed and expressed as mean, then were categorized as poor (<50%), fair (50-69%), and good (≥70%). Results: More than 50 percent of the survey respondents have a level of education after graduation and 37% work in special needs education. Seventy-three percent of respondents had experience teaching ASD children, and more than half had less than five years of experience. However, about 73% received training courses in teaching ASD children, and only 37.7% had a good experience using sign language with ASD children. The overall percentage of good attitudes was 53%, which significantly correlates to gender and the number of students in the school. Conclusions: Even though sign language is a widely used form of communication for children with ASD, Sudan’s unique-education teachers still need support and training to instruct autistic students and caregivers how to use it. The teachers’ positive attitudes were significantly related to the teacher’s gender and the number of students per school.

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“…As a result, boosting Sudan's human resource ability to provide mental health treatment is a big undertaking. The Ministry of Health used the World Health Organization's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) Intervention Guide to create an intervention plan [ [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] ].…”

Section: Challenges and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%