A child mental health program for primary care nurses
The state has committed itself to the integration of mental health and primary health care services in order to utilise resources more efficiently and to provide comprehensive care to the population. Primary health care nurses are generally lacking in mental health skills. The provision of training for them has been identified as being essential if integration is to succeed. The various provinces have differed from each other in their approaches to integration and training. In Kwa Zulu-Natal, no training programs had been introduced by the provincial health authorities until recently. This study aimed to provide a training program in child mental health for primary health care nurses in the Ugu region. A group of fourteen nurses were trained in the diagnosis and management of four frequently occurring child mental health problems. Their knowledge prior to training was assessed and compared to that of a group of psychiatric nurses and a group of primary care nurses undergoing training in a general mental health program conducted by the Department of Health. Their attitude towards integration was also compared to that of the group of psychiatric nurses. It was found that prior to training, both groups of primary care nurses knew significantly less about these conditions than did the group of trained psychiatric nurses. After training, the group that had been trained in the writer's program were found to have improved their knowledge to a level similar to that of the psychiatric nurses. The group undergoing training in the department's program made no significant gains in knowledge when compared to the other two groups. It was concluded that the department's program may be deficient in certain aspects and needs to be reviewed. Both primary health care nurses and trained psychiatric nurses anticipate various problems related to the proposed integration of services. It is argued that for integration to be successful these concerns and issues need to be urgently addressed.
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