BACKGROUND:
The integration of mental health care into primary healthcare services is an important strategy employed by countries worldwide to make services accessible to all.1 An important part of this integration strategy is to facilitate the transfer of services from psychiatric facilities to primary healthcare facilities located in local communities. 2,1,3 Apart from this integration strategy, patients who need specialist psychiatric care require referral from primary healthcare services to secondary and tertiary services. The correct criteria, policies, and guidelines for referral of mental healthcare users between specialist hospitals and primary healthcare sites should be implemented and followed properly by all stakeholders to avoid confusion and to ensure continuity of care.2 This study aimed to explore the referral experiences of mental health care users presenting with common mental disorders in a low socio-economic setting in Cape Town, South Africa.

METHODS:
We adopted a qualitative research design and conducted in-person, individual interviews with 25 adult mental health care users who had sought mental health services from public hospitals and clinics in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town. All interviews were audio recorded with participants’ consent and transcribed verbatim. The resulting dataset will be subjected to thematic analysis.

RESULTS:
Thematic analysis will identify key patterns and themes in participants’ experiences of help seeking, referral, and mental health care received in primary care facilities. Through the results, we hope to identify aspects of mental health referral that support treatment engagement and those that hinder it.

CONCLUSIONS:
The completed analysis will present a coherent set of findings with implications for strengthening mental health care offerings in primary care.