BACKGROUND
Mental health conditions are expressed in various ways in different people, and access to healthcare for these conditions is affected by various individual factors, healthcare provider factors, and contextual factors. These factors may act as enablers or facilitators to accessing primary care for mental health conditions. Many studies have established an increased risk of mental disorders among people with non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, mental health screening and treatment among people with NCDs is rare in many countries.
OBJECTIVE
Our scoping review will explore the factors influencing access to primary care for mental health conditions among adults in West Africa.
METHODS
Our review will follow the approach to scoping reviews developed by Arksey and O’Malley in 2005. This approach has five stages: (i) identifying the research question (ii) identifying relevant studies (iii) study selection (iv) charting the data (v) collating, summarizing, and reporting the results. We will search electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CAIRN INFO, and Google Scholar), source grey literature from relevant websites (World Health Organization, country-specific websites), and manually explore reference lists of relevant studies to identify eligible records. Two independent authors will screen the titles, abstracts, and full texts of studies based on predefined eligibility criteria. We will use a data extraction tool adopted from the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis to chart the data.
RESULTS
The search in the various databases was completed on 12th February 2024. The search yielded 2,918 results. 1,737 unique results remained after duplicate removal. The review is projected to be completed by 30th April 2024.
CONCLUSIONS
Exploring the barriers and enablers to accessing primary care for common mental health conditions is essential to shape policies to address the pressing need for quality and accessible mental health care in the sub-region.