Knowledge, attitude, and its correlates of the community toward mental illness in Mattu, South West Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundThe magnitude of mental health conditions in the general population was high in low-resource settings like Ethiopia. This was accompanied by little evidence on knowledge, attitudes, and related determinants in the general population. Therefore, the current survey is planned to assess the knowledge, attitude, and related factors of the community toward mental illness in Mattu, South West Ethiopia.ObjectivesOur study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and related factors of the community toward mental illness in Mattu, South West Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in South West Ethiopia, Mattu town from 1 April−20 June, 2022 using a systematic random sampling, a multistage stratified technique from 649 households, and employed an interviewer-administered pre-tested semi-structured English version questionnaire. Epi-data Version 3.1 and SPSS-V-23.3 were employed for data entry and analysis respectively. A statistically significant association was declared at a P-value ≤ 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval.ResultsIn the current study, poor knowledge regarding, and unfavorable attitudes toward, mental illness among study respondents were 28% (182) 95% CI (24.3, 31.6) and 60.4% (392) 95% CI (56.5, 64.3), respectively. After controlling for potential confounders, being self-employed was independently associated with poor knowledge [AOR = 3.1, 95%CI (1.65, 4.28)]. Moreover, current use of substances [AOR = 1.64 95%CI (1.09, 5.98)] and not hearing information about mental illness from social media have been shown to be associated in the final model with an unfavorable attitude [AOR = 3.44 95%CI (1.98, 5.99)].Conclusion and recommendationAbout one-third and more than one-half of the study participants showed poor knowledge and an unfavorable attitude, respectively. Compared to similar global and local findings, there was better community knowledge and a poor attitude toward mental illness in the area. Unfavorable attitudes toward mental illness were found to be exacerbated by participants not hearing about it on social media and by current substance use. Moreover, being self-employed was independently associated with poor knowledge of mental illness. Hence, all concerned stakeholders need to enhance mental health advocacy to improve public knowledge and attitude toward mental illness through media campaigns with a special focus on common substances. In addition, due attention should be given to self-employed groups of society to reduce the impacts of mental health conditions.

Knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking behaviour for mental illness in a Christian community

“…There is no association between good knowledge and negative attitudes. 30 In a study by Birkie et al, poor knowledge was associated with unfavourable attitude, which is consistent with our findings. 22 Most survey participants are willing to live with and work with individuals facing mental health challenges and maintain friendships with them.…”

“…Recent research suggests that young adults have a tendency to over-identify with depression, 28 , 29 potentially because of increased exposure to mental health education through social media campaigns that aim to raise awareness about depression and suicide. 30 Other studies had similar results where younger age was associated with a low level of knowledge and a low level of stigma related knowledge. 21 Other studies found no association between age and level of knowledge.…”

The Community Attitudes And Behavior Towards People Living With Mental Illness: A Descriptive Study

“…This study found that more than fifty percent of individuals have negative or less supportive attitudes toward people living with mental illness, namely 52 (52.52%). Previous studies found that majority of people had negative attitude toward people living with mental illness (Despande et al, 2020;Jarso et al, 2022;Puspitasari et al, 2020;Saragih et al, 2013). This study result was similar to the prior studies.…”

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

“…Autism has a wide range of symptoms, levels of severity, and is often comorbid with other conditions. Insufficient diagnostic capacity and management of autism increases the need for more research to help address these challenges [ 79 – 81 ]. It is possible that the growing awareness and advocacy for autism, as well as increased funding from charitable organizations, have contributed to its status as one of the most studied CAMH disorders [ 82 , 83 ].…”

“…This attitude is not only prevalent in low-income countries but also in high-income countries such as the United Kingdom and Slovenia [ 91 , 92 ]. The poor attitudes could be attributed to HCWs’ lack of knowledge about CAMH, which can lead to misconceptions and stigma toward CAMH [ 79 ]. Cultural norms and beliefs may stigmatize CAMH, leading to reluctance to seek or provide appropriate CAMH care [ 34 , 93 ].…”