Mental health care provided by nurses in the primary health care clinics in Swaziland.

Abstract

The study was designed to examine and describe mental health care provided by the nurses in the primary health care settings of Swaziland. The study sought to answer one main questions namely: • what was the nature of mental health care provided by nurses in the primary health care clinics? A sample of 31 primary health care clinic nurses was used to generate data for the study. The sample consisted of registered nurses with only one having a mental health qualification. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. Data analysis involved simple frequency and percentage counts using SPSSmanual as well as descriptive narratives using NVIVO computer analysis methods. Findings revealed that mental health care in the primary health care clinics was mainly traditional involving immunizations, family planning and antenatal services, Limited mental health care was provided by the only mental health nurse involved in the study, Nurses stated that the care they provided was in line with their job descriptions, The study concluded that the mental health care provided at the primary health care clinics was based on the traditional approach that did no encompass mental health care, Recommendations made were related to the promotion of the integration of mental health care into the services provided in the primary health care scttings with nurses being prepared for the role.