Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Mar 24:10:25.
doi: 10.1186/s13033-016-0057-7. eCollection 2016.

Towards understanding governance issues in integration of mental health into primary health care in Uganda

James Mugisha  1 , Joshua Ssebunnya  2 , Fred N Kigozi  2
Affiliations

Towards understanding governance issues in integration of mental health into primary health care in Uganda

James Mugisha et al. Int J Ment Health Syst. .

Abstract

Background: There is a growing burden of mental illness in low income countries. The situation is further worsened by the high poverty levels in these countries, resulting in difficult choices for their health sectors as regards to responding to the burden of mental health problems. In Uganda, integration of mental health into primary health care (PHC) has been adopted as the most vital strategy for ensuring mental health service delivery to the general population.

Objectives: To identify governance related factors that promote/or hinder integration of mental health into PHC in Uganda.

Methods: A qualitative research design was adopted at national and district level. A total of 18 Key informant interviews were conducted at both levels. Content thematic analysis was the main method of data analysis.

Findings: There were positive gains in working on relevant laws and policies. However, both the mental health law and policy are still in draft form. There is also increased responsiveness/participation of key stakeholders; especially at national level in the planning and budgeting for mental health services. This however seems to be a challenge at both district and community level. In terms of efficiency, human resources, finances, medicines and technologies constitute a major drawback to the integration of mental health into PHC. Ethics, oversight, information and monitoring functions though reported to be in place, become weaker at the district level than at national level due to limited finances, human resources gaps and limited technical capacity. Other governance related issues are also reported in this study.

Conclusions: There is some progress especially in the legal and policy arena to support integration of mental health into PHC in Uganda. However, adequate resources are still required to facilitate the effective functioning of all governance pillars that make integration of mental health into PHC feasible in Uganda.

Keywords: Governance; Integration; Mental health; PHC; Uganda.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Lewis M. Tackling healthcare corruption and governance woes in developing countries. Washington DC: Center for Global Development; 2006.
    1. World Health Organization . Department of mental health and substance dependence, non-communicable diseases and mental health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2011.
    1. Thornicroft G, Alem A, Santos RAD, Barley Drake E, et al. World Psychiatry. 2010;2010(9):67–77. doi: 10.1002/j.2051-5545.2010.tb00276.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Patel V, Kleinman A. Poverty and common mental disorders in developing countries. Bull World Health Organ. 2003;81(8):609–615. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . Department of mental health and substance dependence, non-communicable diseases and mental health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003.

LinkOut - more resources