Race and psychiatric services in post-apartheid South Africa: a preliminary study of psychiatrists' perceptions.
OBJECTIVE
The primary objective of this study was to examine the perception of the quality of psychiatric services five years after apartheid, and specifically whether care for black patients had improved.


METHODS
A survey was distributed to South African psychiatrists during a national congress and by mail. The questionnaire focused on the quality of psychiatric care in general, for black and white patients, the racial composition of each respondent's psychiatric practice currently, and the racial composition of the psychiatric practice during apartheid.


RESULTS
Psychiatric services in South Africa were viewed as deteriorating. The end of apartheid has done little to improve the quality of psychiatric care for both black and white patients. Although less pronounced, racial inequality in psychiatric care continues to exist. Psychiatric practices continue to be overrepresented with white patients.


CONCLUSIONS
There remains a differential in quality of psychiatric care and further monitoring should continue. Continued efforts to improve racial equality and the need for greater awareness of cultural issues need to be addressed. Limitations of this study included possible social desirability bias, use of subjective rather than objective measures, and a survey that was limited in scope.
Kohn
Robert
R
Butler Hospital and Brown University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Providence, RI 02906, USA. Robert_Kohn@brown.edu
Szabo
Christopher P
CP
Gordon
Alan
A
Allwood
Clifford W
CW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000639:trends; D013019:South Africa; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data