Psychiatric education in Africa-Kenyan perspective

Abstract

The existing huge global neuropsychiatry disease burden compared to the available meagre human resources underlines the need for alternative innovative approaches in psychiatry. The low middle income countries have very few psychiatry specialists who cannot meet the demand at current and even in the near future. In the Kenyan context, the prevalence of Common Mental Disorders is ∼10.8% in a country with less than 100 psychiatrists. This has a negative impact to the patients who suffer from mental disorders and also the caregivers. Undetected or undiagnosed mental disorders cause untold suffering including the socio-economic negative consequences. The lack of access to appropriate treatment is attributed to the depleted resources in terms of specialist manpower and low investment level in psychiatry infrastructure. This calls for committing substantial resources to boost mental health training and also boldly embrace alternative psychiatry remedies. Unfortunately, Psychiatry education is a discipline that has not been able to attract a significant share of medical health practitioners globally and the situation is not any different in Kenya. Therefore, the question of motivation level for students to pursue psychiatry is valid, and thinking through the strategies that can improve the intake of medical student at the post graduate psychiatry education is relevant. It is imperative to address the stigma heaped to the psychiatry discipline by other medical specialties and bring it to the limelight of medical practice. However, owing to the trend of very low psychiatrists who qualify and join the market annually, there is a need to explore alternative and innovative ways of addressing the mental health treatment gap. Involvement of primary healthcare workers and service integration should be explored as recommended by some researchers. In addition, Psychiatry should not be confined as a monopoly of western biomedical approach in an African context where traditional approaches are still in existence.