Exploring barriers to accessing mental health care services in Ndola, Zambia

The objectives of the study were to identify barriers that impede access to mental health services and formulate informed targeted interventions and policies to enhance service delivery and utilization. A qualitative study was conducted employing a descriptive phenomenological approach to explore the economic, social, cultural and religious barriers to accessing mental health (MH) services. The population of the study constituted family members and care givers of MH patients who resided in Ndola. Purposive sampling technique was used to recruit forty (40) participants who received informed consent forms to give them the right to participate in the study or withdraw from the study at any given time. Semi-structured interviews were utilized to explore views, experiences, beliefs and motivations of study participants and data was analyzed thematically. The study revealed that barriers to accessing MH services in Ndola included lack of finance, stigma, cultural myths, religious beliefs, social isolation and family breakdown. Therefore, there is need to adopt deliberate comprehensive MH care policies, which include increasing budgetary allocation of resources for procurement of essential MH drugs and implementing a coordinated response to MH care service provision.