Bonsu Akosua Serwaah, Salifu Yendork Joana, Asante Kwaku Oppong, Dotse Enoch John, Owusu Ansah Kenneth
Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Discov Ment Health. 2025 Mar 31;5(1):44. doi: 10.1007/s44192-025-00167-9.
In Ghana, community-based mental health professionals (MHPs) are essential in providing mental health treatments, albeit in difficult circumstances. High workloads, a lack of institutional support, and resource constraints are among the factors in these professions' elevated psychological distress. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, this study investigated the prevalence and contributing factors of psychological distress among mental health professionals (MHPs) working in communities in Ghana. Using the DASS-21 scale, quantitative data were gathered from 300 MHPs, and the results showed that the prevalence of clinically significant levels of psychological distress (from mild to extremely severe) was 41.3% for anxiety, 36% for depression, and 32.7% for stress. Psychological distress was significantly influenced by factors such as marital status and work experience. Qualitative interviews with 25 MHPs revealed more stressors that support the high prevalence rates, including workload and clients' behaviour; resource and infrastructure constraints; stigma and affiliate stigma; and lack of institutional support and isolation. The nature and extent of distress beyond depression, anxiety and stress gathered from MHPs' perspectives were the experience of "intense distress" (acute), "persistent distress" (chronic), and "emotional distress" (a component of burnout). Therefore, systemic adjustments, including better infrastructure, more financing for mental health services, and the creation of MHP-specific support programmes, are needed to address the psychological distress of MHPs in Ghana.
在加纳，社区心理健康专业人员（MHPs）对于提供心理健康治疗至关重要，尽管面临困难的环境。高工作量、缺乏机构支持和资源限制是这些职业中心理困扰加剧的因素之一。本研究采用序列解释性混合方法设计，调查了加纳社区心理健康专业人员（MHPs）心理困扰的患病率及其影响因素。使用DASS - 21量表，收集了300名心理健康专业人员的定量数据，结果显示，临床上显著水平的心理困扰（从轻度到极其严重）的患病率为：焦虑症41.3%，抑郁症36%，压力症32.7%。心理困扰受到婚姻状况和工作经验等因素的显著影响。对25名心理健康专业人员的定性访谈揭示了更多支持高患病率的压力源，包括工作量和客户行为；资源和基础设施限制；耻辱感和附属耻辱感；以及缺乏机构支持和孤立感。从心理健康专业人员的角度来看，除了抑郁、焦虑和压力之外的困扰的性质和程度包括“强烈困扰”（急性）、“持续困扰”（慢性）和“情绪困扰”（职业倦怠的一个组成部分）。因此，需要进行系统性调整，包括改善基础设施、增加心理健康服务的资金投入以及制定针对心理健康专业人员的支持计划，以解决加纳心理健康专业人员的心理困扰问题。
