Eager to make a difference in nursing science through research, Dr Precious Chibuike Chukwuere speaks about the need for collaboration to ensure holistic mental health care for adolescents.
I have a deep interest in adolescent’s mental health, depression in adolescents, and its psychosocial management. I am embarking on series of research projects on presence in the management of adolescent mental health conditions among others, depression in adolescents.
I recently completed my PhD in Health Science with Nursing Science under the supervision of Prof LA Sehularo and Prof ME Manyedi. The title of my thesis is “Conceptual framework for psychosocial management of depression in adolescents, North West Province, South Africa”.
I developed and validated a conceptual framework for the psychosocial management of depression in adolescents.
My study followed a qualitative research approach, utilizing individual interviews and focus group discussion as the instruments of data collection. I interviewed adolescents and parents and conducted a focus group discussion with the mental health nurses in the various selected study areas.
During my PhD study, I realized gaps in caring presence including a dire need for adequate follow-up care for adolescents diagnosed with depression. Adequate mental health care embedded in a caring presence facilitates the patient’s recovery.
Recommendations
The conceptual framework revealed that for effective psychosocial management of depression in adolescents, the management process should be facilitated by the collaborative efforts of stakeholders, religious institutions, schools, communities, and peer groups of adolescents. This could be actualized through the effective modification of the immediate environment, mobilizing support systems, facilities, facilitating their resilience, integrating mental health into primary health care, facilitating the therapeutic environment, and continuous monitoring. There is a need for adequate communication, stakeholders’ commitment, adolescent-friendly services, the collaboration of NGOs to ensure adequate psychosocial management of depression in adolescents, and enabling adolescents to develop effective coping skills.
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