Acceptability and perceived impact of a mental health and disability programme in Ghana

African Journal of Disability

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Acceptability and perceived impact of a mental health and disability programme in Ghana
 
Creator Sakyi, Lionel Adwan-Kamara, Lyla Ae-Ngibise, Kenneth A. Lund, Crick
 
Subject Disability disability inclusion; mental health; process evaluation; Ghana; user-led; Theory of Change
Description Background: Ghana Somubi Dwumadie aimed to improve wellbeing of people with disabilities, including people with mental health conditions, through four pillars: strengthening policies and systems; scaling up integrated, accessible mental health services; reducing stigma and discrimination; and generating evidence to inform policy and practice. Despite these efforts, its implementation has not been comprehensively evaluated.Objectives: To assess the programme’s acceptability and perceived impact from the perspective of key stakeholders, including government, civil society organisations, and grantees.Methods: A process evaluation, guided by the programme’s Theory of Change, involved in-depth interviews with 32 stakeholders from programme partners, civil society and government. Document reviews supplemented data collection, and thematic analysis identified key insights.Results: Stakeholders highlighted the programme’s technical assistance as crucial for strengthening advocacy and policy leadership in mental health. The integration of mental health services into primary care and the involvement of traditional leaders to reduce stigma were noted successes. Challenges included funding instability, gaps between advocacy and service delivery and limited control over implementing key policy reforms.Conclusion: Ghana Somubi Dwumadie made significant strides in disability inclusion and mental health care through its multi-sectoral, user-led approaches. Addressing challenges like sustainable funding and service delivery will be critical for ensuring lasting impact and scalability.Contribution: This study underscores the impact of user-led, multi-sectoral approaches in reducing stigma, scaling services, and empowering people with disabilities in resource-limited settings, while addressing challenges and strategies for disability-inclusive programming.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office
Date 2025-08-22
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — qualitative research
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajod.v14i0.1659
 
Source African Journal of Disability; Vol 14 (2025); 12 pages 2226-7220 2223-9170
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1659/3605 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1659/3606 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1659/3607 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1659/3608
 
Coverage Africa — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Lionel Sakyi, Lyla Adwan-Kamara, Kenneth A. Ae-Ngibise, Crick Lund https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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