Masters Degrees (Psychiatry)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Psychiatry) by Subject "Community mental health services -- Cape Town (South Africa)"

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    Long-term outcomes of an assertive community treatment (ACT) intervention : a 10-year follow-up
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Coetzee, Danell; Botha, Ulla; Koen, Liezl; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Psychiatry.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Background: Assertive community treatment (ACT) is an intervention implemented in many countries to manage the effects of deinstitutionalization, with studies in South Africa demonstrating decreased admissions at 12 and 36-month follow-up for patients receiving modified ACT compared to standard care. Whilst shown to be effective, costs associated with the intervention has raised the question of its feasibility in developing countries. Aim: This study aimed to describe the demographic and clinical outcomes of a group of patients included in an ACT interventional study, 10 years after inclusion. Methods: This is a retrospective description of the 10-year outcomes of a group of 55 highfrequency psychiatric users (HFUs) included in the first ACT intervention in South Africa. The group either received follow-up with a modified ACT program or at a community care centre. Demographics, admissions, social functioning and adverse events were outcomes reviewed. Results: Nine patients remained in ACT for the full 10 years, 16 were never included and 30 patients spent some time in ACT. Five participants died, 2 were admitted to long-term wards and 12 were never re-admitted. The group had an overall low level of education, a mean age of 43 years and most were single (82%). The mean number of admissions were 3.73 and the mean number of admission days was 261.11. Conclusions: This was the first study looking at the long-term outcomes of a group of HFUs in an under-resourced setting receiving a modified ACT intervention. Correlation with the poor psychosocial outcomes often associated with schizophrenia were found in this group, but overall, the study findings suggest increased stabilization, service utilization and quality of life for patients exposed to ACT at some stage in their treatment.
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    Parents’ practices and beliefs about their infants play at two state infant mental health clinics in Cape Town
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Domingo, Marchelle; Berg, Astrid; Mpinda, Bulelwa; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Psychiatry.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Insight into local beliefs about play, which is highly under studied within the first three years of life, could inform clinical practice in that clinicians and parents might have different views about play. Aim: The study aimed to explore and describe parents’ practices and beliefs about their infants play. Methods: Qualitative study using individual semi structured interviews with six purposefully selected parents, who attended an Infant Mental Health Clinic at either Tygerberg or Lentegeur state hospitals in Cape Town, over the last twelve months. Results: All parents were birth parents, with a mean age of 33 years. Most parents (83.3%) were female. Two-thirds (66.7%) were unemployed at the time of the interview. Infants were predominantly male (83.3%). Most parents had never considered play as something of significance in their own or their children’s lives. Several transgenerational subthemes emerged, suggesting that parents’ experiences and beliefs about play impacted their interaction and the messages they conveyed about play behaviours. Most parents appeared motivated to give their children the best opportunities for play, but some found it difficult to balance daily demands and demonstrated a reliance on expert guidance. Conclusions: There is a need for parental guidance – to allow for a space for parents to explore what they understand by ‘play’ and what their childhood experiences might have been, before the clinician can give information, examples, and guidance as to the importance of play so that it can be meaningful for the parent.