Community Mental Health Outreach Scheduling Density and Unmet Need Detection in South African Nonprofit Service Zones: A Difference-in-Differences Estimation of Visit-Frequency Exposure
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Community mental health outreach in South Africa is delivered largely by nonprofit organisations whose visit schedules vary widely across service zones, yet the relationship between visit frequency and the detection of unmet need remains poorly quantified. Using a difference-in-differences design, the analysis exploits variation in visit-frequency exposure across zones and compares changes in unmet need detection before and after schedule intensification. The model was estimated on a panel of service zones observed between 2021 and 2025. The results indicate that each additional scheduled visit per month was associated with a statistically significant increase in detected unmet need, with the estimate robust to zone and period fixed effects. The findings suggest that outreach scheduling density functions as a surveillance-intensity mechanism rather than a simple service-volume parameter, and that unmet need detection is sensitive to the administrative rhythm of contact rather than only to the presence or absence of a service.
Institution: University of Cape Town
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223237991