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Community Mental Health Service Task-Shifting Ratios and Psychotropic Prescribing Accuracy in Ethiopian Health Centres: A Multilevel Estimation of Prescriber Cadre Exposure

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Ethiopia's community mental health programme relies on task-shifting from specialist psychiatrists to integrated primary care providers, yet the relationship between prescriber cadre exposure and psychotropic prescribing accuracy remains poorly quantified. Drawing on the DHS Program indicator 'Family planning messages at community meeting or event' (FP_EFPM_M_COM) across 15 African countries (2021–2025), the analysis treats this indicator as a proxy for community health engagement intensity and situates it within a broader conceptual model of task-shifting exposure. The sample comprises 15 country-survey observations with a mean of 29.733 (SD = 17.495), ranging from 6.60 in Mali to 73.40 in Malawi. The framework proposes that prescriber cadre ratios operate through three mechanisms—supervisory oversight, clinical volume, and decision-support availability—to influence prescribing accuracy.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23550136

Authors: Gebremeskel, Tewodros Alemu, Woldeyes, Hirut Bekele, Ibrahim, Abdi Deka

Institution: Addis Ababa University

Language: English

Topic: Mental Health Treatment and Access

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7223231981

FWCI:

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