Magnitude and nature of common mental disorders among college students in Africa and barriers to seeking care (Senegal, Cameroon, DR Congo, Algeria). – MAMA_AFRICA

According to WHO, mental health is a global emergency, for children, adolescents and young adults in particular. Universities and colleges across the world are struggling with rising rates of students’ mental disorders. Demand for services on campuses exceeds available resources. Therefore, most students remain undiagnosed or untreated. There is growing awareness of the need for effective prevention, early detection, new treatment and support approaches for common mental disorders (CMDs) among students. Reliable data is critical for planning and implementing sustainable, effective interventions. Yet, there is a lack of studies on CMDs among university and college students as well as relevant interventions in African countries. This proposed study aims to contribute evidence to address this gap in research. The aim of this study is to use a mixed methodology combining the power of stories and power of numbers [10], qualitative and quantitative, to address this gap by bringing evidence on the extent of CMDs and their associated factors among undergraduates, to describe the lived experiences, key barriers and facilitators to help-seeking behaviours for CMDs among undergraduates in four African countries: Senegal, Cameroon, DR Congo, Algeria. Specifically, we want to:
1. To estimate the prevalence of common mental health disorders (CMDs) – i.e., depression, anxiety, and alcohol and substance use disorders, and suicidal behaviours – anonymous survey.
2. To describe the determinants of CMDs, sociodemographic factors, personal/lifestyle factors, family-specific factors, university-related variables, and community-level factors associated with common mental health disorders – i.e., depression, anxiety, and alcohol and substance use disorders, and suicidal behaviours – anonymous survey.
3. To document the personal and shared meanings of lived experiences regarding CMDs and to describe key barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for CMDs – observations, in-depth interviews, biographical interviews.
To achieve this study’s objectives, a multidisciplinary approach as well as a close dialog between biomedical sciences, humanities and social sciences is a requirement. MAMA_AFRICA brings together researchers from different backgrounds under the leadership of PRODIG – UMR8586 and the Child and adolescent psychiatric division of the Centre Hospitalier Charles Perrens. The disciplines represented in the consortium revolve around the above-mentioned areas of studies and research: anthropology, epidemiology, sociology, psychology, psychiatry. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first multidisciplinary and multi-sited study, combining the power of stories and power of numbers [10] to study mental disorders in French Speaking African universities. Our sample makes our study the biggest on the subject, to the best of our knowledge, at least in French Speaking Africa.
Our study will benefit the universities studied while contributing robust data to tackle a critical global public health issue. In the short- to medium-terms, evidence from our study will help the development of preventive, promotive and supportive mental health models to facilitate and guide the transition of young graduates into the labor market and family life. In the long-term, evidence from our study will contribute to the attainment of Target 3.4 of the UN SDGs of improving and promoting mental health and well-being (among young people in Africa). This study has other methodological as well as practical implications in terms of capacity building and knowledge transfer. It will reinforce a global South-North and South-South partnership, rather than the usual global North-South partnership. Our team is made up of scholars with expertise on mental disorders and the specific contexts of Low-income countries that we need to understand, to direct policies at a pan African and global level.