Analysis of Records from an Urban African Psychological Service: Suggestions for Mental Health Systems Research

Abstract

This article represents a modest attempt at encouraging mental health systems research with particular reference to South Africa. Despite the repeated calls for the logical inclusion of psychological services into Primary Health Care (PHC) in low to middle-income countries, such services remain absent or at best peripheral. A review of the literature, data analysis, and associated arguments, in this article, are therefore based on the view that health systems research is vital for informing policy decisions on health funding allocations and mental health service delivery. Accordingly, drawing on the records of a township-based counselling service we seek to investigate the strategic need for sound record management. Data on client service utilization patterns, client demographics, and presentation problems are instructive sources of information in considerations about the structure, management and funding of psychological services. Recognizing the methodological limitations of our study, we conclude our analysis with a broad motivation for further health systems research and a specific call for the establishment of a mental health information system that can provide routine quality data that may be used for multiple purposes.