Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Quality and Satisfaction in Youth Mental Health Care: A Nigerian Perspective

Received: 20 November 2025     Accepted: 20 December 2025     Published: 2 February 2026
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Abstract

The global shift toward community-based mental healthcare highlights the importance of service-user involvement in the co-design of effective and acceptable care. This mixed-methods study assessed service-user satisfaction and explored barriers and facilitators to care at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health outpatient clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, using a triangulation design. Quantitative data were collected from 44 adolescents and 21 caregivers using the Patients’ Perception of the Quality of Services Questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale, while qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with a subset of 12 adolescents and 8 caregivers to explore perceptions of care quality, access, and improvement needs. Overall satisfaction with care was high, with caregivers reporting slightly higher satisfaction than adolescents. High satisfaction was reported by 72.7% of adolescents and 76.2% of caregivers, and no participant reported low satisfaction. Mean satisfaction scores were 86.25 (SD = 13.00) for adolescents and 86.67 (SD = 11.84) for caregivers. Sociodemographic characteristics and clinical diagnosis were not associated with satisfaction with care; however, satisfaction with services was significantly associated with participants’ subjective wellbeing. Qualitative analysis identified barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for service improvement. Key barriers included long waiting times, cumbersome administrative processes, unpredictable services, persistent symptoms and medication side effects, financial costs, and distance to the facility. Facilitators to continued care were perceived improvement in patients’ health and positive staff attitudes. Participants recommended reducing waiting times, streamlining clinic processes, lowering costs, improving staff attitudes and communication, and increasing consultation time with clinicians. In conclusion, findings suggest that both adolescents and caregivers were satisfied with the quality of care provided. However, the study underscores the importance of actively involving adolescents in treatment planning and service development to enhance engagement, adherence, and continuity of care, and to reduce the risk of dropout in child and adolescent mental health services.

Published in Medicine and Health Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.mhs.20260201.16
Page(s) 49-64
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Satisfaction with Care, Service User Involvement, Adolescent Mental Health, Healthcare Service

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Fola-Bolumole, O., Adeniyi, Y., Bella-Awusah, T., Omigbodun, O. (2026). Quality and Satisfaction in Youth Mental Health Care: A Nigerian Perspective. Medicine and Health Sciences, 2(1), 49-64. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mhs.20260201.16

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    ACS Style

    Fola-Bolumole, O.; Adeniyi, Y.; Bella-Awusah, T.; Omigbodun, O. Quality and Satisfaction in Youth Mental Health Care: A Nigerian Perspective. Med. Health Sci. 2026, 2(1), 49-64. doi: 10.11648/j.mhs.20260201.16

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    AMA Style

    Fola-Bolumole O, Adeniyi Y, Bella-Awusah T, Omigbodun O. Quality and Satisfaction in Youth Mental Health Care: A Nigerian Perspective. Med Health Sci. 2026;2(1):49-64. doi: 10.11648/j.mhs.20260201.16

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  • @article{10.11648/j.mhs.20260201.16,
      author = {Oluwabunmi Fola-Bolumole and Yetunde Adeniyi and Tolulope Bella-Awusah and Olayinka Omigbodun},
      title = {Quality and Satisfaction in Youth Mental Health Care: 
    A Nigerian Perspective},
      journal = {Medicine and Health Sciences},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {49-64},
      doi = {10.11648/j.mhs.20260201.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mhs.20260201.16},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.mhs.20260201.16},
      abstract = {The global shift toward community-based mental healthcare highlights the importance of service-user involvement in the co-design of effective and acceptable care. This mixed-methods study assessed service-user satisfaction and explored barriers and facilitators to care at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health outpatient clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, using a triangulation design. Quantitative data were collected from 44 adolescents and 21 caregivers using the Patients’ Perception of the Quality of Services Questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale, while qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with a subset of 12 adolescents and 8 caregivers to explore perceptions of care quality, access, and improvement needs. Overall satisfaction with care was high, with caregivers reporting slightly higher satisfaction than adolescents. High satisfaction was reported by 72.7% of adolescents and 76.2% of caregivers, and no participant reported low satisfaction. Mean satisfaction scores were 86.25 (SD = 13.00) for adolescents and 86.67 (SD = 11.84) for caregivers. Sociodemographic characteristics and clinical diagnosis were not associated with satisfaction with care; however, satisfaction with services was significantly associated with participants’ subjective wellbeing. Qualitative analysis identified barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for service improvement. Key barriers included long waiting times, cumbersome administrative processes, unpredictable services, persistent symptoms and medication side effects, financial costs, and distance to the facility. Facilitators to continued care were perceived improvement in patients’ health and positive staff attitudes. Participants recommended reducing waiting times, streamlining clinic processes, lowering costs, improving staff attitudes and communication, and increasing consultation time with clinicians. In conclusion, findings suggest that both adolescents and caregivers were satisfied with the quality of care provided. However, the study underscores the importance of actively involving adolescents in treatment planning and service development to enhance engagement, adherence, and continuity of care, and to reduce the risk of dropout in child and adolescent mental health services.},
     year = {2026}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Quality and Satisfaction in Youth Mental Health Care: 
    A Nigerian Perspective
    AU  - Oluwabunmi Fola-Bolumole
    AU  - Yetunde Adeniyi
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    JO  - Medicine and Health Sciences
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mhs.20260201.16
    AB  - The global shift toward community-based mental healthcare highlights the importance of service-user involvement in the co-design of effective and acceptable care. This mixed-methods study assessed service-user satisfaction and explored barriers and facilitators to care at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health outpatient clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, using a triangulation design. Quantitative data were collected from 44 adolescents and 21 caregivers using the Patients’ Perception of the Quality of Services Questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Life Scale, while qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with a subset of 12 adolescents and 8 caregivers to explore perceptions of care quality, access, and improvement needs. Overall satisfaction with care was high, with caregivers reporting slightly higher satisfaction than adolescents. High satisfaction was reported by 72.7% of adolescents and 76.2% of caregivers, and no participant reported low satisfaction. Mean satisfaction scores were 86.25 (SD = 13.00) for adolescents and 86.67 (SD = 11.84) for caregivers. Sociodemographic characteristics and clinical diagnosis were not associated with satisfaction with care; however, satisfaction with services was significantly associated with participants’ subjective wellbeing. Qualitative analysis identified barriers, facilitators, and recommendations for service improvement. Key barriers included long waiting times, cumbersome administrative processes, unpredictable services, persistent symptoms and medication side effects, financial costs, and distance to the facility. Facilitators to continued care were perceived improvement in patients’ health and positive staff attitudes. Participants recommended reducing waiting times, streamlining clinic processes, lowering costs, improving staff attitudes and communication, and increasing consultation time with clinicians. In conclusion, findings suggest that both adolescents and caregivers were satisfied with the quality of care provided. However, the study underscores the importance of actively involving adolescents in treatment planning and service development to enhance engagement, adherence, and continuity of care, and to reduce the risk of dropout in child and adolescent mental health services.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria;Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria;Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria;Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

  • Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria;Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

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