INTRODUCTION: Relapse among individuals with serious mental illnesses in resource-limited contexts, including South Africa, is a significant concern. To date, the risks for relapse among this population is well documented, but little is known about prevention strategies to reduce its occurrence in these resource-limited settings. Therefore, this qualitative study explores the risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention from the patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives.
METHODS: We conducted audio-recorded face-to-face in-depth interviews to capture the lived experience of relapse of inpatient study participants with serious mental illness (N = 24) at a public specialized psychiatry hospital in South Africa and their caregivers (N = 6). We conducted an inductive thematic analysis with two pre-specified themes (risk factors for relapse and strategies for prevention), with the codes devised from the data.
RESULTS: Six sub-themes were identified from the analysis within the two pre-specified themes (Risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention): personal-related, family-related, and health system-related risk factors and strategies for preventing relapse, respectively. To highlight some essential findings, the importance of motivation for drug adherence, family involvement, and availability of anti-psychotic drugs in public health care were noted. More importantly, this study identified important cultural complexities where traditional healers play a significant role in some cultural understanding and treatment of mental illness, affecting medication adherence.
CONCLUSION: This study calls for people-centered mental health care delivery in a public health system that listens to the voice of concern, including cultural challenges, and implements meaningful support that matters most to the patient and their family/caregivers.
Risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention among individuals living with serious mental illness in South Africa: Qualitative inquiry from patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives
PLoS One, 18 (9), e0309238. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309238. PMCID: PMC11340960.