Time to focus on institutional reforms in low and middle income countries

Exploring the feasibility and public health impact of integrating a community-based recovery-oriented intervention for people living with schizophrenia in partnership with a tertiary care mental hospital in India

Background

There is a priority need to make community-based care widely available for people living with schizophrenia (PLwS) in low- and middle-income countries. An innovative approach for increasing access could be to integrate clinical services available in tertiary care hospitals with community-based care through a task-sharing approach. We describe such an integrated intervention that was implemented at Tezpur in northeast India in collaboration with the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health (LGBRIMH).

Method

The objectives of the study were to illustrate the feasibility of integrating and implementing the intervention and to describe its individual, systemic, and public health impacts. Due to the limited resources available, we conducted a pragmatic single-arm longitudinal evaluation of the intervention cohort over 24 months.

Results

Of the 239 PLwS enrolled in the intervention, 198 (83%) were followed up for 24 months, with nearly three-quarters reporting a >70% reduction in disabilities, most notably between 6 and 18 months. There was a marked reduction in unmet needs across multiple domains, and at 24 months, 62% of the cohort was engaged in individual jobs or other market-linked livelihood opportunities. There was greater uptake and retention with outpatient contacts at the LGBRIMH, and PLwS experienced a marked (82%) reduction in inpatient admissions rates, as compared to before enrolment. Over a period of 24 months, primary caregivers reported that their families experienced significantly fewer social difficulties such as unemployment, interpersonal conflicts, and social isolation. The intervention had a significant public health impact, with an estimated 51.8% effective treatment coverage rate for the integrated intervention.

Conclusion

Our findings provide preliminary evidence of the feasibility of implementing the integrated intervention and its effectiveness. We believe that there is merit in further in-depth refinement and exploration of this implementation-related research and cost analysis while replicating the intervention in other tertiary care institutions.

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

Background

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusions

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.

Psychiatric hospital reform in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review of literature

PURPOSE

Psychiatric hospitals or mental asylums grew across the world in the colonial era. Despite concerns over quality of care and human rights violations, these hospitals continue to provide the majority of mental health care in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We sought to review the evidence of reform of mental hospitals and associated patient outcomes.

METHODS

We adopted an integrative review methodology by including experimental and non-experimental research. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42019130399). A range of databases and systematic hand searches were conducted by two independent reviewers. Research conducted between 1980 and May 2019, that focused on any aspect of reform in mental hospitals for adults (age 18 and upwards) with severe mental illness and published in English, were considered.

RESULTS

16 studies were included in the review. 12 studies met inclusion criteria, and four additional reports emerged from the hand search. Studies covered-India, China, South Africa, Grenada, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Brazil. Key findings emphasise the role of judicial intervention as a critical trigger of reform. Structural reform composed of optimisation of resources and renovations of colonial structures to cater to diverse patient needs. Process reforms include changes in medical management, admission processes and a move from closed to open wards. Staff engagement and capacity building have also been used as a modality of reform in mental hospital settings.

CONCLUSION

There is some documentation of reform in psychiatric hospitals. However, poor methodological quality and variation in approach and outcomes measured, make it challenging to extrapolate specific findings on process or outcomes of reform. Despite being integral service providers, psychiatric hospitals still do not adopt patient centric, recovery-oriented processes. Hence, there is an urgent need to generate robust evidence on psychiatric reform and its effect on patient outcomes.

Four reflections on the new global mental health priorities

The discussion of the achievements and limitations of the strategies prioritised in global mental health that has taken place in recent years contributed to a unified vision for action that addresses the gaps still existing on prevention, treatment, quality of care and human rights protection. This editorial presents four reflections on the impact of this vision on the definition of future priorities, particularly in the areas of policy implementation, services reconfiguration and organisation, human rights and research. It concludes that further debate is needed to redefine the balance between priorities and strategies that can better promote an effective response to the needs of low and middle income countries, and to ensure an efficient coordination of efforts in the future.