@misc{9221575,
  abstract     = {{Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a pressing public health challenge in South Africa, deeply rooted in intersecting social, economic, and structural factors. Comprehensive approaches are increasingly recognized as essential for addressing the complex nature of the issue. While efforts to prevent GBV among children and adolescents can yield long-term, sustainable outcomes, they often remain fragmented. To overcome this fragmentation, integrative models of care are being advocated as a means to more effective prevention. There is limited understanding of how sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), two critical frameworks for youth well-being, can be integrated in GBV prevention programming. This study explores the process of integration between SRHR and MHPSS within community-based GBV prevention programs for children and adolescents in Johannesburg. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, the research draws on in-depth interviews with practitioners to explore how the integration is intervowen. The resulting conceptual model “The Pathway of Integration: From Fragmentation to Transformation” which unfolds the process through five interrelated stages: Fragmented, Emerging, Coordinated, Embedded, and Transformational integration. Each of these stages characterized by specific properties and shaped by contextual conditions across micro, meso, and macro levels. These stages do not follow a strict linear trajectory but instead represent overlapping and dynamic degrees of integration that coexist and shift over time. The results highlight participation as a foundational element in the integration process, as well as the increased mattering and empowerment of youth, stakeholder involvement, cross-sector collaboration, and strengthened community resilience. All of these aspects progressively deepening as integration becomes more embedded, supported by harmonised political will, funding resources and evolving gender norms.}},
  author       = {{Schreber, Heléne}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{From Fragmentation to Transformation: A Grounded Theory Study on the Process of Integrating Sexual and Reproductive Health, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Children and Adolescents in Johannesburg, South Africa}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}