Assessment of the Adequacy of Manpower, Equipment and Material Resources for the Provision of Primary Mental Health Services in PHC Facilities in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: To maintain the good mental health of a population, the primary healthcare delivery system must be enhanced to provide mental healthcare services (MHS). This study was thus aimed at assessing the adequacy of manpower, equipment, and material resources for providing mental healthcare services in primary healthcare (PHC) facilities in Rivers State, Nigeria. Methods: This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design and was conducted in 123 Model Primary Health Care (MPHC) facilities in Rivers State, Nigeria. The heads of facilities provided responses on the availability of manpower, equipment, and material resources necessary for the provision of MHS. Data were collected using an adapted manpower, equipment, and materials checklist, after which evaluation was performed using laid-down PHC standards to determine the adequacy of the assessed resources. Results: Regarding the manpower working at the health facilities, it was identified that 56 (45.5%) facilities had no doctors and 38 (30.9%) had no nurses, one community health officer (CHO) in 31 (25.2%), among other workers. The various cadres of workers in the PHC facilities were also identified as grossly inadequate. An assessment of equipment and material adequacy, using a 50% cutoff to classify availability as “adequate” or “inadequate”, showed that most facilities (64, 52.0%) experienced inadequacies in these equipment and materials. Conclusion: The manpower, equipment, and material resources required for the provision of MHS in PHC facilities in Rivers State was found to be inadequate and inequitably distributed. It was thus recommended that the relevant healthcare stakeholders in the State should work to strengthen the capacity of PHC facilities to provide quality MHS to the Rivers populace, thereby improving health outcomes.