Planning for child and adolescent mental health interventions in a rural district of South Africa: a situational analysis

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a situational analysis as part of formative work to inform the development of community-based mental health services for children and adolescents at a district level. The purpose of the situational analysis was to determine the current state of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH), the available resources for CAMH, the range of services provided, and the existing pathways to CAMH care in a low-resource district with a view to developing a district mental health plan to improve access to CAMH services.Methods: Data for this situational analysis was collected from a rural district in the KwaZulu-Natal province using mixed methods. The qualitative component explored various stakeholders' (n = 26) perspectives using semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data for the study was collected using an adaptation of the situation analysis tool developed by the PRIME consortium.Results: The findings revealed the need to strengthen all the basic building blocks of the health system due to the weaknesses identified in the current CAMH care system in the district. The result of the situational analysis revealed that the provision of CAMH services in the district is sparse, uncoordinated, and not prioritised.Discussion: The findings of the study highlighted a severe shortage of specialised CAMH services in the district, poor integration of CAMH services into primary health care, and at the community platform there are deficits in the integrated school health programme. Further, the lack of a coordinated intersectoral collaborative system and well-defined referral pathways were revealed.Conclusion: The study highlights various challenges facing CAMH services at the Amajuba district. While these are not new, the study contributes to our understanding of the district level factors that may hinder the development of a district CAMH plan

Character Strengths of Adolescent Survivors of Childhood Cancer

There is increased interest in possible positive outcomes for survivors of childhood cancer. This study investigated the manifestation of character strengths in adolescents who have survived cancer compared to that seen in healthy adolescents. The aim was to establish whether specific character strengths may be more prominent in adolescents who have survived cancer than in healthy adolescents. Two groups of participants; consisting of adolescents who have survived childhood cancer (n = 21) and a group of healthy adolescents (n = 21); were obtained through convenience sampling. They completed the Values in Action Inventory for Youth (VIA-Youth) (Park et Peterson 2006) as a measure of character strengths. No significant differences were found between the character strengths of adolescents who have survived cancer and their healthy peers; unlike the findings of a similar earlier study with adults (Peterson; Park et Seligman 2006). It is concluded that the experience of serious illness such as cancer neither hindered nor enhanced the development of character strengths in this group of adolescent survivors. More research is needed to understand positive psychological functioning in the aftermath of childhood cancer

L'adolescence vue par la psychologie d'aujourdui

Qu'est-ce que l'adolescence et quelle signification faut-il accorder a la notion de crise qui lui est generalement associee? La notion de crise n'implique-t-elle pas en elle meme l'existence de difficultes chez le sujet qui la vit? Quelle est la nature de ces difficultes et constituent-elles necessairement le lot de tous les adolescents? Dans quelle mesure ces difficultes peuvent-elles etre source de souffrance psychique

A study to identify adolescents'knowledge; attitudes and beliefs towards teenage pregnancy

The paper presents findings from a focus group discussion which was designed to identify the problems adolescents face during the transition period; in particular their reproductive health knowledge; attitudes and beliefs. The survey was conducted in four Secondary schools in Katutura and two ante natal clinics; among teenagers between of the age of 13 and 19. These included both pregnant and non-pregnant adolescent girls as well as boys. The survey concluded that teenagers are ill informed and that the absence of adolescent programs and information on reproductive health have been found to be a contributing factor to teenage pregnancy in the country. Moreover; it highlights the need for the community to accept that premarital sex is a reality which needs to be addresed with a coordinated approach