To what extent does South African mental health and substance abuse research address priority issues?

Teaching lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health in a South African health sciences faculty: addressing the gap

BACKGROUND People who identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) have specific health needs. Sexual orientation and gender identity are social determinants of health, as homophobia and heteronormativity persist as prejudices in society. LGBT patients often experience discrimination and prejudice in health care settings. While recent South African policies recognise the need for p...

Rife substance abuse feeding mental health disorders.

Prevalence and correlates of atypical patterns of drug use progression: findings from the South African Stress and Health Study.

OBJECTIVE Atypical sequences of drug use progression are thought to have important implications for the development of substance dependence. The extent to which this assumption holds for South African populations is unknown. This paper attempts to address this gap by examining the prevalence and correlates of atypical patterns of drug progression among South Africans. METHOD Data on substance...

Behavioral health services utilization among older adults identified within a state abuse hotline database.

PURPOSE This study examined the extent to which older adults identified in a statewide abuse hotline registry utilized behavioral health services. This is important as mental health issues have been identified as a high priority for filling gaps in services for victims of mistreatment. DESIGN AND METHODS We compared Medicaid and Medicare claims data for two groups of older adults: those using...

The outcome of mental health care users admitted under Section 40 of the South African Mental Health Care Act (No 17 of 2002).

OBJECTIVE To determine the outcomes of mental health care users (MHCU's) admitted in terms of Section 40 of the South African Mental Health Care Act (No 17 of 2002) (MHCA) and the factors, if any, that are associated with these outcomes. METHOD The study was a retrospective record review of MHCU's, 18 years and older, referred by the South African Police Service (SAPS) to Chris Hani Baragwana...