TY - JOUR
KW - Community Mental Health Centers
KW - Community Mental Health Services
KW - primary care
KW - Public policy issues
KW - Public-sector psychiatry
AU - W. Martinez
AU - J. Galvan
AU - N. Saavedra
AU - S. Berenzon
A1 - 
AB - OBJECTIVE: Despite the high prevalence of mental disorders in Mexico, minimal mental health services are available and there are large gaps in mental health treatment. Community-based primary care settings are often the first contact between patients and the health system and thus could serve as important settings for assessing and treating mental disorders. However, no formal assessment has been undertaken regarding the feasibility of implementing these services in Mexico. Before tools are developed to undertake such an assessment, a more nuanced understanding of the microprocesses affecting mental health service delivery must be acquired. METHODS: A qualitative study used semistructured interviews to gather information from 25 staff in 19 community-based primary care clinics in Mexico City. Semistructured interviews were analyzed by using the meaning categorization method. In a second phase of coding, emerging themes were compared with an established typology of barriers to health care access. RESULTS: Primary care staff reported a number of significant barriers to implementing mental health services in primary care clinics, an already fragile and underfunded system. Barriers included the following broad thematic categories: service issues, language and cultural issues, care recipient characteristics, and issues with lack of knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that the implementation of mental health services in primary care clinics in Mexico will be difficult. However, the information in this study can help inform the integration of mental health into community-based primary care in Mexico through the development of adequate evaluative tools to assess the feasibility and progress of integrating these services.
BT - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)
C5 - Education & Workforce
CP - 5
CY - United States
DO - 10.1176/appi.ps.201600141
IS - 5
JF - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)
N2 - OBJECTIVE: Despite the high prevalence of mental disorders in Mexico, minimal mental health services are available and there are large gaps in mental health treatment. Community-based primary care settings are often the first contact between patients and the health system and thus could serve as important settings for assessing and treating mental disorders. However, no formal assessment has been undertaken regarding the feasibility of implementing these services in Mexico. Before tools are developed to undertake such an assessment, a more nuanced understanding of the microprocesses affecting mental health service delivery must be acquired. METHODS: A qualitative study used semistructured interviews to gather information from 25 staff in 19 community-based primary care clinics in Mexico City. Semistructured interviews were analyzed by using the meaning categorization method. In a second phase of coding, emerging themes were compared with an established typology of barriers to health care access. RESULTS: Primary care staff reported a number of significant barriers to implementing mental health services in primary care clinics, an already fragile and underfunded system. Barriers included the following broad thematic categories: service issues, language and cultural issues, care recipient characteristics, and issues with lack of knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that the implementation of mental health services in primary care clinics in Mexico will be difficult. However, the information in this study can help inform the integration of mental health into community-based primary care in Mexico through the development of adequate evaluative tools to assess the feasibility and progress of integrating these services.
PP - United States
PY - 2017
SN - 1557-9700; 1075-2730
SP - 497
EP - 502
EP - 
T1 - Barriers to Integrating Mental Health Services in Community-Based Primary Care Settings in Mexico City: A Qualitative Analysis
T2 - Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)
TI - Barriers to Integrating Mental Health Services in Community-Based Primary Care Settings in Mexico City: A Qualitative Analysis
U1 - Education & Workforce
U2 - 27974004
U3 - 10.1176/appi.ps.201600141
VL - 68
VO - 1557-9700; 1075-2730
Y1 - 2017
ER -