Mental health research in Ghana: a literature review

Ghana Med J. 2012 Jun;46(2 Suppl):29-38.

Abstract

Context/background: Mental health is a neglected area in health care in Ghana. With few clinicians and trained researchers in the field, research has been limited both in quantity and quality.

Method: A search of the available literature revealed 98 articles published between 1955 and 2009. Sixty-six are reviewed in this paper.

Results: Topics covered included hospital and community-based prevalence studies, psychosis, depression, substance misuse, self-harm, and help-seeking. Much of the research was small in scale and thus largely speculative in its conclusions. Epidemiological data is scarce and unreliable and no large-scale studies have been published. There are very few studies of clinical practice in mental health.

Conclusions: The existing literature suggests several important areas for future research to inform the development of targeted and effective interventions in mental health care in Ghana.

Keywords: Ghana; epidemiology; mental disorders; mental health; psychiatry; research.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biomedical Research*
  • Ghana / epidemiology
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders / diagnosis
  • Mental Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Mental Disorders / therapy
  • Mental Health Services
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
  • Prevalence