Conceptualization of child safety and mental health by parents in two Global South contexts of disadvantage

Children in resource-constrained Global South settings face safety and mental health risk factors, often with limited access to support. Forty-four parents in South Africa and Pakistan conceptualized vulnerabilities and required support. Thematic analysis of focus group data resulted in three themes of contextual influences, child rearing practices and joint care pathways. The findings highlight the importance of integrated child protection and mental health awareness and interventions, and interdisciplinary training. In Global South countries, social workers are ideally positioned to drive partnerships between structural and informal community-based support systems, and thus continuously align policy, protocols and interventions with local sociocultural values.