Ebuenyi, Ikenna and Regeer, Barbara J. and Aguocha, Chinyere and Bunders-Aelen, Joske F. G. and Guxens, Mònica (2020) Perspectives of mental healthcare providers on pathways to improved employment for persons with mental disorders in two lower middle-income countries. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 14 (26). ISSN 1752-4458

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Abstract

Background: Mental disorders afect employment and the ability to work, and mental healthcare providers are important in the promotion of health and employment for afected individuals. The objective of this study is to explore the perspectives of mental healthcare providers on pathways to improved employment for persons with mental disorders in two lower middle-income countries. Methods: Our study participants included mental healthcare providers (psychiatrists, occupational physicians, psychologists, and social care workers) from Kenya and Nigeria. Qualitative interviews and a focus group discussion were conducted with 15 professionals in Kenya and online questionnaires were completed by 80 professionals from Nigeria. Results: The study participants suggested that work is important for the recovery and wellbeing of persons with mental disorders. A complex interplay of factors related to the health of persons with mental disorders and the socioeconomic system in their setting were identifed as barriers to their work ability and employment. Participants proposed four pathways to improved employment: including information on reducing stigma, better healthcare, policy advocacy in employment, and government commitment to healthcare and social welfare. Public education to reduce stigma and better healthcare were the highest reported facilitators of employment. Conclusions: Persons with mental disorders require multilevel support and care in obtaining and retaining employ‑ ment. A better mental healthcare system is essential for the employment of persons with mental disorders.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativeco mmons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/ zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Cite as: Ebuenyi ID, Regeer BJ, Aguocha C, Bunders-Aelen JFG, Guxens M. Perspectives of mental healthcare providers on pathways to improved employment for persons with mental disorders in two lower middle-income countries. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2020;14:26. Published 2020 Mar 30. doi:10.1186/s13033-020-00354-x
Keywords:	Healthcare providers; Work ability; Employment; Improved healthcare; Government commitment;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology
Item ID:	15302
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-020-00354-x
Depositing User:	Ikenna Ebuenyi
Date Deposited:	21 Jan 2022 16:51
Journal or Publication Title:	International Journal of Mental Health Systems
Publisher:	BMC
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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