Search

Introduction: The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020. COVID-19 has since caused a significant increase in mental health problems at national and global levels. This study assessed the views of key mental health stakeholders regarding the state of mental health service provision in Malawi and the pandemic's impact on the sector. Methods: The study utilised a qualitative approach through key informant interviews (KIIs) conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were audio recorded in English language and were manually transcribed for thematic analysis by generating codes re-classified into themes, sub-themes and quotes. Results: The results are categorised into five themes. Firstly, the availability of mental health services. All experts confirmed the lack of availability of the mental health services especially at the lower levels of care. Currently, only 0.3% of facilities offer mental health services in Malawi. Moreover, although mental health services are part of the essential health care package and, therefore, are supposed to be provided for free in public facilities at all levels, the services are centralised and only functional at a tertiary level of care in public facilities. Secondly, funding sources for mental health in public and private facilities. We learnt that public facilities depend on donor sources and there is lack of prioritisation in budget allocation for mental health services. Whereas private facilities, their major source of funding is user fees. Thirdly, government's response in the provision of mental health services during COVID-19. Almost all experts echoed that government took a proactive approach to address the mental health needs of its population during the pandemic. There was increased collaboration between the government and the private sector to provide psychosocial and counselling services to health workers working directly with COVID-19 patients in isolation centres. Furthermore, to increase awareness of the general population on where to seek counselling services. Lastly, challenges in the provision of mental health services were highlighted and how the pandemic acerbated the challenges including shortage in human resources for health and inadequate funding. Conclusion: This study underscores the urgency of addressing mental health challenges in Malawi. Policymakers must prioritize the decentralization of mental health services, explore funding opportunities, and build on the successful collaboration with the private sector. These measures will not only enhance the accessibility and quality of mental health services but also ensure that mental well-being is a central component of public health efforts in Malawi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated the difference of attitudes towards business ethics between students who have studied a business ethics course (n=88) and those who have not (n=94) at the University of Malawi in Malawi. It was hypothesised that students who had undergone the course would have more positive attitudes towards business ethics than those who had not. We employed the Attitudes towards Business Ethics Questionnaire (ATBEQ) and used t-test to measure the difference. The results were surprising as most items (23/30) showed no significant difference in attitudes towards business ethics by students who had undergone the course from those who had not. Out of the seven that showed significant difference, five of the items showed more positive attitude towards business ethics by those students who had undergone the course than those students who had not. This shows that there is something positive as regards the methods of teaching business ethics at the University, but requires leveraging. The paper concludes by recommending three leveraging points that the University of Malawi can adopt in teaching a business ethics course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]