Attitude Towards the Mentally Ill Among Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) Workers in the Ahmedabad City of Gujarat

Abstract

Background: The community misunderstands mental illness, resulting in stigmatizing attitudes toward persons with mental illness. High mental health literacy (MHL) among Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers can help spread mental health awareness to the community. The study aimed to assess the attitudes of ASHA workers toward the mentally ill. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among ASHA workers in the city of Ahmedabad using the Community Attitude toward Mentally Ill (CAMI) scale – Gujarati version. Census sampling was used to collect data from ASHA workers at various Urban Health Centers (UHC). We analyzed 265 responses. Results: The mean (SD) of authoritarianism (AU), benevolence (BE), social restrictiveness (SR), and community mental health ideology (CMHI) subscales were 29.77(3.35), 35.33(3.78), 34.55(3.49), and 37.15(4.42), respectively (a higher mean suggests a negative attitude in the AU and SR subscales and a positive attitude in the BE and CMHI subscales). Conclusion: Although ASHA workers displayed goodwill and a welcoming attitude on the BE and CMHI subscales, they showed negative and stigmatizing attitudes on certain items of the AU and SR subscales. This necessitates a widespread mental health education campaign and training program for them.