Tools

MHaPP Planning Tools

MHaPP has developed planning tools to assist with the scaling up of mental health services in low and middle-income countries.

1. Community-based mental health services

Community-based mental health services are needed urgently, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We have developed a model for calculating the human resources and costs required for community-based care in South Africa. The model can be adapted and used for planning in other low- and middle-income countries.

The following published article sets out the rationale and methodology for this model in more detail:

• Lund, C., & Flisher, A.J. (2009). A model for community mental health services in South Africa. Tropical Medicine and International Health. 14(9):1040-1047.

The spreadsheet model can be downloaded and adapted to other contexts by adjusting the following assumptions or variables: population size; age distribution; prevalence; comorbidity; levels of coverage; ambulatory care utilisation rates; length of consultation; ambulatory care workloads; and staff profile.

2. Child and adolescent mental health services

Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are under-resourced and low on the priority list in most low and middle-income countries. We have developed a model for calculating the human resources and costs required for CAMHS in South Africa. The model can be adapted and used for planning in other low- and middle-income countries.

The following published article sets out the rationale and methodology for this model in more detail:

• Lund, C., Boyce, G., Flisher, A.J., Kafaar, Z., & Dawes, A. (2009). Scaling up child and adolescent mental health services in South Africa: human resource requirements and costs. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 50(9):1121-1130. 

The spreadsheet model can be downloaded and adapted to other contexts by adjusting the following assumptions or variables: population size; age distribution; prevalence; comorbidity; levels of coverage; ambulatory care utilisation rates; length of consultation; ambulatory care workloads; and staff profile.

3. Provincial Mental Health model to 2025

Using population estimates to the year 2025, Prof Heather McLeod and Prof Crick Lund combined previous norms estimates to come up with predictions for future mental health service needs. These can be downloaded here.