MHM Magazine

44 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 2022 | Issue 5 MHM health were noted by community members in this survey. Many were negative, relying on a colloquial grasp of the word ‘mental’ referring to madness or an illness. Some were incredibly complex, referring to mental health as a chemical imbalance, or the ability of the brain to cope with adversity, while others saw mental health as a multi-faceted bio-psycho- social phenomenon. Broadening the idea of access to care 1 in 4 people asked for the provision of additional mental health care services in their communities, with 50% reporting that SADAG was a source of help when they faced mental health challenges. Community members reported the same pattern of psychological distress when seeking help from a psychologist or getting help from SADAG. This could imply a similar impact across service providers, showing that there is scope for less traditional, low-cost care models to flourish. Only 2 in 10 township residents had managed to talk to a mental health professional. This underlines the need to measure community needs as accurately as possible, in order to expand access to mental health care in extremely resource-constrained environments. Building blocks The synthesis and use of a Mental Health Scorecard for use in South Africa matters because it has several inherent benefits: 1. It places mental health on equal footing with physical maladies. 2. Allows for greater accountability and transparency in the provision of adequate care to community members. 3. Creates a tangible measure of the needs and resources allocated to meet those needs in our national context. 4. Allows for cross-national collaboration in terms of health care provision. Before we can begin to create this much-needed Mental Health Scorecard, it’s important to identify stressors; consider what people think and expand what we mean by mental health care service provision, before we limit ourselves to a discussion of traditional access indicators. Mental health remains a complex phenomenon at the grassroots level, but this does not mean it cannot be scored, though it should be considered with care. South African township dwellers have shown us the way towards better scorecard development in local contexts.