Korakkottil S, Gopal V, Sekaran V C, Ramasamy A
PhD Research Scholar, Department of Global Public Health Policy and Governance, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka,India.
Research Assistant, Biomedical Informatics Unit, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
Clin Ter. 2025 Jul-Aug;176(4):436-444. doi: 10.7417/CT.2025.5246.
India has a serious dearth of mental health experts in the field, with only 0.3 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people, far below the global average, which is significantly appearing as a barrier for SDG number 3. Mental health NGOs in India are crucial in filling this gap by providing essential services including counselling, therapy, and medication management and raising mental health awareness. This study aims to map the mental health services provided and explore the stakeholder perspectives on NGO-provided mental health services to identify facilitators and barriers to improving service delivery.
This qualitative, multicentric exploratory study was conducted in two districts of Southern India, Palakkad in Kerala and Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The study mapped NGOs' mental health systems and services, drawing on the perspectives of 30 stakeholders, including key informants, psychologists, counsellors, social workers, volunteers, and psychiatrists. Data was collected between January and April 2024 following ethics clearance and analysed by manual coding and ATLAS.ti software trial version 24.1.0.
Thematic analysis revealed key challenges and facilitators, with stigma and funding constraints emerging as commonly discussed barriers, while community engagement and collaborative efforts were frequently cited as enablers of effective service delivery. The study identified the diverse mental health services provided by the NGOs in both places, such as direct counselling, teleconsultations, awareness classes, workshops, and community outreach sessions. Stakeholders highlighted effective community engagement, flexibility, continuous professional development, and strategic public-private partnerships as the facilitators for delivering good-quality services. Challenges for the service implementation included stigma surrounding mental health, competition in the field, and inadequate funding.
By addressing identified barriers and leveraging facilitators, NGOs can significantly enhance mental health service provision and outcomes in Palakkad and Chennai districts. Effective communication, local language use, and increased collaboration, including enhancing Public-Private Partnerships, are essential for sustainable mental health initiatives.
印度该领域严重缺乏心理健康专家，每10万人中仅有0.3名精神科医生，远低于全球平均水平，这已成为实现可持续发展目标3的重大障碍。印度的心理健康非政府组织在填补这一空白方面至关重要，它们提供包括咨询、治疗和药物管理在内的基本服务，并提高心理健康意识。本研究旨在梳理所提供的心理健康服务，并探讨利益相关者对非政府组织提供的心理健康服务的看法，以确定改善服务提供的促进因素和障碍。
这项定性、多中心探索性研究在印度南部的两个地区进行，即喀拉拉邦的帕拉卡德和泰米尔纳德邦的金奈。该研究借鉴了30名利益相关者的观点，包括关键信息提供者、心理学家、咨询师、社会工作者、志愿者和精神科医生，梳理了非政府组织的心理健康系统和服务。在获得伦理批准后，于2024年1月至4月收集数据，并通过手工编码和ATLAS.ti软件试用版24.1.0进行分析。
主题分析揭示了关键挑战和促进因素，耻辱感和资金限制是经常讨论的障碍，而社区参与和合作努力则经常被认为是有效服务提供的促成因素。该研究确定了两地非政府组织提供的各种心理健康服务，如直接咨询、远程会诊、提高认识课程、工作坊和社区外展活动。利益相关者强调有效的社区参与、灵活性（此处原文flexibility含义不太明确，根据语境意译为灵活性）、持续的专业发展和战略性公私伙伴关系是提供高质量服务的促进因素。服务实施面临的挑战包括围绕心理健康的耻辱感、该领域的竞争以及资金不足。
通过解决已确定的障碍并利用促进因素，非政府组织可以显著提高帕拉卡德和金奈地区的心理健康服务提供水平和成效。有效的沟通、使用当地语言以及加强合作，包括加强公私伙伴关系，对于可持续的心理健康举措至关重要。
