Towards enhancing youth mental health services in Mauritius
Aimed at ‘leaving no one behind,’ GROW is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of good health and well-being by reducing inequalities in access to mental healthcare in Africa. While treatment options and effective care do exist in Africa, the accessibility of such services is determined and influenced by conditions specific to different socio-demographic groups.
One such vulnerable group is young people. Youth mental health is a growing global concern, particularly among 15-24 year-olds. Mauritius, like other African Small Island Developing States (SIDS), faces unique challenges in mental healthcare. The state’s mental health system is under-researched and often under-resourced, and Mauritian youth experience higher-than-average rates of depression, anxiety and suicidality. Decentralised services such as community-based initiatives and NGOs have a role in prevention and providing rehabilitation, but knowledge gaps related to accessibility to mental health services for the youth population remain. This project aims to fill those knowledge and population gaps in youth mental health research in Mauritius.
A transdisciplinary approach to overcoming limitations to mental health care and access in Mauritius
This project will assess the resilience of the layered mental healthcare system and its limitations from various perspectives of policy implementation, research, awareness and accessibility. Proactively identifying barriers to treatment access and needs for person-specific-care has shown promise in filling gaps in care, especially in areas where mental health lacks a stand-alone policy and is minimally integrated into primary care at governance level.
Taking a transdisciplinary approach, the project ultimately aims to gather stakeholder perspectives on questions of accessibility and care provision and generate context-specific insights that enhance youth mental health care and support the development of inclusive policies and interventions. This will be achieved by:
- Identifying barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health care in Mauritius.
- Exploring how Mauritian youth define and perceive mental health.
- Improving alignment between youth needs and health system responses.
The project echoes the intentions of the country towards fostering inclusion and strengthening the mental health care system in line with the World Health Organization’s (WHOs) Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030.
Integrating theory and lived experiences for a better understanding of care dynamics
The project uses a qualitative, interpretive and emergent design. It follows a transdisciplinary methodology, where the Interactive Learning and Action (ILA) framework structures the research process. Levesque’s model of access and Husky’s help-seeking model will be used to structure the exploration of questions around identity, stigma, culture and belongingness, as well as existing health system provisions influencing the organisation of mental healthcare for young people. By combining theory and lived experiences, the project ensures the delivery of a more detailed and methodical understanding of the implied dynamics of care.
Athena’s role
In addition to providing methodological and theoretical training and collaboration support to GROW PhD students, the Athena Institute develops and builds the transdisciplinary component of the project to ensure research quality, accountability and impact for transforming mental health care in African nations.
