Nursing Publications
The Deinstitutionalization of Psychiatric Hospitals in Ghana: An Application of Bronfenbrenner’s Social-Ecological Model
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2-2020
Journal
Issues in Mental Health Nursing
Volume
41
Issue
4
First Page
306
Last Page
314
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1080/01612840.2019.1666327
Abstract
© 2020, © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Institutionalization of people living with mental illness has evolved over the years, especially in the 19th and early 20th century. This has created over crowdedness in various psychiatric institutions, specifically in low and-middle-income countries, including Ghana. The objective of this study is to use Bronfenbrenner’s Social-Ecological Model (1979) to propose a process for deinstitutionalizing psychiatric services in Ghana while supporting a transition to community-based mental health care. Using the concept of Bronfenbrenner’s Social-Ecological Model, this article explores some benefits and difficulties with the concept of deinstitutionalization with regards to mental health care services in Ghana. Individuals living with mental illness will be more comfortable in various communities in Ghana where education on stigmatization and discrimination is heightened to subsequently prevent it. Education and intervention policies are required to intensify the campaign to win the support of all people in the community. Residents of Ghana should learn to say no to stigma and discrimination among people living with mental illness.
