The Socio-Economic Challenges of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Contributions from the Mentally Ill Population in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions

Author(s)

Abstract
New and unforeseen socioeconomic challenges related to the COVID-19 crisis have disrupted the mentally ill population of Ghana’s livelihood support and general access to psychiatric treatments. This research looks critically at the pandemic’s impact on the mentally ill population to determine whether the crisis has changed the mentally ill population’s social support networks, financial opportunities as well as essential access to care. The discussion is based on a qualitative study that is designed to explore the direct and indirect socioeconomic challenges and healthcare limitations related to the COVID-19 epidemic among Ghana’s mentally ill population in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions. The study examines four reoccurring themes including medication, familial obligations, community support, unemployment, and relapses among the mentally ill population regions using both phsychiatric and divine healing options in the Greater Accra and Easter regions. First, it considers the role that belief systems and socioeconomic difficulties have played in influencing mental healthcare treatment preferences in the wake of the pandemic. Second, the paper introduces the research methods, settings, and sample size of the qualitative study. Third, the study’s findings are explored concerning the relationship between the Corona Virus and the lived experiences of mentally ill person’s socioeconomic challenges. COVID-19 furthered challenges of preexisting stigma, job loss, and limited psychiatric services options. This qualitative study explores the underlying economic and cultural contexts defining mental healthcare treatment preferences during the pandemic to shed light on new challenges.

Keywords
Covid-19, Prayer Camps, Socioeconomic challenges, Ghana, Mental health

Cite this paper
McKenzie Fergus, The Socio-Economic Challenges of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Contributions from the Mentally Ill Population in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions , SCIREA Journal of Sociology. Volume 7, Issue 5, October 2023 | PP. 384-407. 10.54647/sociology841063

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