Psychoactive Prescription Practices for Serious Mental and Neurological Illness in Ghana: Data from the Mental Health and Poverty Project (MHaPP)

摘要

Abstract: Mental disorders are disabling and economically costly health conditions. Given limited resources, mental health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) tend to focus on patients with the most severe conditions, for whom treatment usually relies on use of psychoactive medications; however, inconsistent patterns of use can be ineffective, wasteful, and potentially harmful. Therefore, a greater understanding of prescription practices and medication availability in LMIC is needed. We estimated associations between prescription practices and hospitals and medication availability for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or delusional disorders (n = 7,296) and patients diagnosed with epilepsy (n = 1,807), the two most common mental and neurological disorders seen at Ghana's psychiatric hospitals.