Engaging youth in stakeholder analysis for developing community-based digital innovations for mental health of young people in Ingwavuma community, in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.

South Africa faces a critical shortage of mental health service professionals and support for young people with common mental health disorders is inadequate. Social relationships that provide support to adolescents in South African communities are increasingly declining due to socio-economic pressures. Developing ethical digital mental health innovations has potential to address provide services particularly in rural communities where mental health facilities are scarce. The active involvement of young people is critical to maximising uptake and reducing apathy on the use of digital innovations for mental health. Using the nominal group technique this study engaged young people in identifying stakeholders for setting up a community-based mental health intervention in a rural community. Use of nominal group technique for stakeholder analysis proved to a useful tool for engaging young people. The stakeholder identification and analysis provided a base for inclusivity in developing digital innovations for mental health through identifying multi-sector community stakeholders. It revealed that young people in the community have varying perceptions about the level of power and interest which their peers, family members, local leaders, health workers and social development organisations have in developing digital mental health interventions. This research contributes to our understanding of the ways in which to leverage young people's participation in project planning and decision-making and building strong teams and alliances for developing digital innovations for mental health in marginalised rural communities.

Knowledge of health practitioners regarding mental health integration into human immunodeficiency virus management into primary healthcare level.

BACKGROUND: Mental disorders are common among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Human immunodeficiency virus infection is associated with neurological complications, which may negatively affect antiretroviral treatment, leading to virologic as well as immunologic failure. The integration of mental healthcare services into HIV services at a primary healthcare level is vital, as this is the first contact point for most patients accessing healthcare services. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge of healthcare professionals about the integration of mental healthcare services into HIV services at a primary healthcare level. METHOD: This study was a quantitative descriptive study, designed to determine the knowledge of healthcare professionals towards integrating mental healthcare services into routine services at primary healthcare centres. The purposive sampling method was employed to select the 200 healthcare professionals who participated in this study. RESULTS: The majority of the healthcare professionals (91%) who participated in this study had limited knowledge regarding the integration of mental healthcare services into HIV services at a primary healthcare level. Very few (9%, n = 18) had adequate knowledge about the integration of mental healthcare services into HIV services. CONCLUSION: Most of the participants had limited knowledge about the subject matter. This, therefore, shows that all stakeholders involved need to implement initiatives to address this knowledge gap.