Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reducing the Treatment Gap, Improving Quality of Care: Workshop Summary

Excerpt

In August 2009 the Uganda National Academy of Sciences Forum on Health and Nutrition and the U.S. Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Neuroscience and Neurological Disorders jointly hosted a workshop in Kampala, Uganda, titled Quality of Care Issues for Mental Health and Neurological Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa. More than 150 researchers, providers, patient advocates, and policy specialists came together to discuss the current state of care for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in sub-Saharan Africa. The goal was to uncover strategies to improve the quality and consistency of care delivered in sub-Saharan Africa, taking into account resource constraints, infrastructure limitations, and other realities. Workshop speakers were charged to do the following:

1. Discuss opportunities to ensure continuity of care and provide sustainable care within a country’s existing healthcare system.

2. Identify resources that are either currently available, or that could be made available in cost-effective and efficient ways, to aid in the treatment and prevention of disease.

3. Examine the need for national, evidence-based policies within national healthcare systems that address quality-of-care issues for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders.

4. Explore opportunities to facilitate collaborations among a variety of stakeholders, including policy makers and healthcare professionals.