Prayer Camps and Biomedical Care in Ghana: Is Collaboration in Mental Health Care Possible?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Experts have suggested that intersectoral partnerships between prayer camps and biomedical care providers may be an effective strategy to address the overwhelming shortage of mental health care workers in Africa and other low-income settings. Nevertheless, previous studies have not explored whether the prayer camp and biomedical staff beliefs and practices provide sufficient common ground to enable cooperative relationships. Therefore, we sought to examine the beliefs and practices of prayer camp staff and the perspective of biomedical care providers, with the goal of characterizing interest in-and potential for-intersectoral partnership between prayer camp staff and biomedical care providers.

Methods

We conducted 50 open-ended, semi-structured interviews with pro

SUBMITTER: Arias D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5019394 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature