Outpatient mental health services in Mozambique: Use and treatments

Abstract

To describe current outpatient mental health service use and treatments in Mozambique, the authors reviewed registry entries for 2,071 outpatient psychiatric visits at the Beira Central Hospital in Sofala Province from January 2012 to September 2014. Service use was most common for schizophrenia, followed by epilepsy, delirium, and organic behavioral disorders. Only 3% of consultations for schizophrenia were first-visit patients. Treatment seeking among women was more likely for mood and neurotic disorders and less likely for substance use disorders and epilepsy. Firstgeneration antipsychotics, most often paired with promethazine, dominated treatment regimens. Evidence-based reforms are needed to improve identification of mood disorders and broaden care beyond severe mental disorders.