A pilot study was done on 50 patients in a community psychiatric programme in Soweto. The organization was based on the principles of mental health consultation and the treatment was based on ...primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. The role of the multidisciplinary staff is outlined and the role of maintenance pharmacotherapy for the ex-schizophrenic patient is stressed. The efficacy of the programme could be improved by an increase in the staff-patient ratio.
The socio-economic, health and nutritional status of 186 families in Diepkloof, Soweto, was studied. The results, detailed in the text, reveal considerable socio-economic ills, of which the most ...important is the observation that 30% of the families existed below the poverty datum line, even when there was more than one wage-earner. More emphasis on health education and the promotion by health personnel of a better understanding of the backgrounds of clinic and hospital patients are urgent priorities for health services.
The racial, political and economic divisions that exist in Johannesburg are as durable as they are odious. The transition to nonracial rule is proceeding more slowly and more viciously than expected.
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