Targeting youth mental health in a demographically young country: a scoping review focused on South Africa

Evidence from South Africa shows a high burden of mental health conditions and a large treatment gap for uninsured people with common mental disorders. For young people seeking mental healthcare, the primary care and community settings are potentially more accessible and appropriate, but public sector mental health services in the country are mostly hospital-based. We undertook a scoping review of needs and preferences for primary care-based and community youth mental health services as well as evaluations of mental health interventions for youth in South Africa. A PubMed search using relevant search terms was conducted, and articles were evaluated based on a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the 405 publications from the search, 29 articles met criteria for inclusion. Two additional papers were included from searching reference lists. Youth emphasized stigma as a barrier to seeking mental healthcare and highlighted the importance of considering local context when developing mental health interventions. The evaluations of community-based and digital interventions identified in the review demonstrated feasibility and acceptability as well as efficacy. This review provides a foundation on which to base future implementation research and to advocate for youth mental health polices and services.