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Community-based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa through a right to health lens

Thesis (LLM)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.

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Main Author: Booyens, Marietjie
Other Authors: Liebenberg, Sandra
Format: Thesis
Language:en_ZA
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2022
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access_status_str Open Access
author Booyens, Marietjie
author2 Liebenberg, Sandra
author_browse Booyens, Marietjie
Liebenberg, Sandra
author_facet Liebenberg, Sandra
Booyens, Marietjie
author_sort Booyens, Marietjie
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (LLM)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/124611
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language en_ZA
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:46:29.473Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/124611 Community-based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa through a right to health lens Booyens, Marietjie Liebenberg, Sandra Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Dept. of Public Law. Community mental health services -- Law and legislation Psychosocial disability Right to health -- South Africa UCTD Thesis (LLM)--Stellenbosch University, 2022. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There has been a shift, globally, from institutionalisation as the primary response to psychosocial disability, to community-based mental health care. This thesis sets out to determine the extent to which the legal and policy frameworks which govern community-based mental health care for adult persons with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa comply with constitutional and international law standards relevant to the right to health. First, by analysing the right of access to health care services in section 27 of the South African Constitution, relevant normative standards for community-based mental health care are established. Further, the negative and positive constitutional obligations in respect of the right of access to health care services are discussed. Following the analysis of constitutional norms and obligations, four key regional and international human rights instruments are analysed, with the right to health as the primary lens. A key part of this analysis is the consideration of two frameworks: the normative standards of “availability”, “accessibility”, “acceptability”, and “quality”; and the obligations to “respect”, “protect” and “fulfil”. These constitutional and international law standards are then applied to evaluate the mental health care legislation, policy and practice relevant to community-based mental health care – specifically, the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002, the National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2013-2020, and the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2016. On the basis of this evaluation, this thesis finds that the framework does generally align with the constitutional and international law standards. However, the translation of this framework into practice is deficient in a number of ways. These deficiencies include: the absence of effective monitoring and information systems; insufficient resource allocation; the inequitable distribution of goods, facilities and services; a lack of clarity on the applicable standards for quality, ethical care; and poorly functioning oversight and accountability mechanisms. Consequently, this thesis concludes by making recommendations to improve the alignment of South Africa’s system of community-based mental health care with constitutional and international law standards. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wêreldwyd word institutionalisering, voorheen die primêre respons op psigososiale gestremdheid, vervang met ’n sisteem van gemeenskapsgebaseerde geestesgesondheidsorg. Hierdie tesis stel vas tot watter mate die wetlike en beleidsraamwerke wat gemeenskapsgebaseerde geestesgesondheidsorg vir volwassenes met psigososiale gestremdhede in Suid-Afrika reguleer, voldoen aan grondwetlike en internasionale reg standaarde wat van toepassing is op die reg op gesondheid. Eerstens, deur die reg op toegang tot gesondheidsorg in artikel 27 van die SuidAfrikaanse Grondwet te ontleed, word relevante norme vir gemeenskapsgebaseerde geestesgesondheidsorg vasgestel. Verder word die negatiewe en positiewe grondwetlike verpligtinge in verband met die reg op toegang tot gesondheidsorg vasgestel. Na aanleiding van die analise van die grondwetlike norme en verpligtinge, word vier belangrike streeks- en internasionale menseregte-instrumente ontleed, met die reg op gesondheid as die primêre lens. ‘n Kern-aspek van hierdie analise is die oorweging van twee raamwerke: die normatiewe standaarde van “beskikbaarheid”, “toeganklikheid”, “aanvaarbaarheid” en “kwaliteit”; en die verpligtinge om die reg te “eerbiedig”, te “beskerm”, en te “verwesenlik”. Hierdie grondwetlike en internasionale regstandaarde word dan toegepas om die wetgewing, beleid en praktyk wat verband hou met gemeenskapsgebaseerde geestesgesondheidsorg, te evalueer – naamlik, die Wet op Geestesgesondheidsorg 17 van 2002, die Nasionale Geestesgesondheidsorgbeleidsraamwerk en Strategiese Plan 2013-2020, en die Witskrif oor die Regte van Persone met Gestremdhede van 2016. Na aanleiding van hierdie evaluasie, word daar bevind dat die raamwerk wel tot ’n groot mate in ooreenstemming is met die grondwetlike en internasionale reg standaarde. Daar word egter verder bevind dat daar ernstige tekortkominge is in terme van die implementering van hierdie raamwerk. Hierdie tekortkominge sluit in: die afwesigheid van effektiewe moniterings- en inligtingstelsels; onvoldoende hulpbrontoewysing; die ongelyke verspreiding van goedere, fasiliteite en dienste; onduidelikheid oor die toepaslike standaarde in verband met die kwaliteit en etiese vlakke van sorg; en swak funksionerende oorsig- en aanspreeklikheidsmeganismes. Gevolglik sluit hierdie tesis af deur aanbevelings te maak om Suid-Afrika se sisteem van gemeenskapsgebaseerde geestesgesondheidsorg in ooreenstemming te bring met grondwetlike en internasionale regstandaarde. Masters 2022-03-07T07:27:42Z 2022-04-29T09:22:15Z 2022-03-07T07:27:42Z 2022-04-29T09:22:15Z 2022-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124611 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 151 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Community mental health services -- Law and legislation
Psychosocial disability
Right to health -- South Africa
UCTD
Booyens, Marietjie
Community-based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa through a right to health lens
title Community-based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa through a right to health lens
title_full Community-based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa through a right to health lens
title_fullStr Community-based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa through a right to health lens
title_full_unstemmed Community-based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa through a right to health lens
title_short Community-based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in South Africa through a right to health lens
title_sort community based mental health care for adults with psychosocial disabilities in south africa through a right to health lens
topic Community mental health services -- Law and legislation
Psychosocial disability
Right to health -- South Africa
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/124611
work_keys_str_mv AT booyensmarietjie communitybasedmentalhealthcareforadultswithpsychosocialdisabilitiesinsouthafricathrougharighttohealthlens