Public perception of mental health in Iraq

Sadik, Sabah; Bradley, Matthews O.; Al-Hasoon, Saad; Jenkins, Rachel

doi:10.1186/1752-4458-4-26

Cited by 80 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This study is in line with the study conducted in India where 39.4% of the respondents were found to have poor perception about mental illness [14]. But it is not consistent with study done in Iraq where 30% of the respondents were with poor perception of mental illness [13]. The variation might be due to socioeconomic and cultural difference among respondents.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Also in study done in Iraq and India no significant association was found with age regarding the community's view of mental illness. This could be due to the tool used or sample characteristics as rural and urban community are involved in both studies [13, 14]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, mental health and mental disorders are not regarded with anything like the same importance as physical health [13]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies done in different areas have shown that poor perception towards the mentally ill is mainly deep rooted with various sociodemographic and other factors [7, 8, 10, 13–18]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Community Perception towards Mental Illness among Residents of Gimbi Town, Western Ethiopia

Benti¹,

Ebrahim

Awoke

et al. 2016

Psychiatry Journal

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Background. Despite the increased burden of mental health problem, little is known about knowledge and perception of the public towards mental health problems in Ethiopia. Methods. Community based cross-sectional study was conducted among selected 845 Gimbi town residents from May 28 to June 28, 2014. Results. Out of the total study participants, 304 (37.3%) were found to have poor perception (a score below mean five semantic differential scales for positive questions and above mean for negative questions) of mental illness. Being above 28 years of age (AOR = 0.48 CI (0.23, 0.78)), private workers (AOR = 0.41 CI (0.19, 0.87)), and lack of mental health information were found to be associated with poor perception of mental illness (AOR = 0.133 CI (0.09, 0.20)). Absence of family history of mental illness was also found to be associated with poor perception of mental illness (AOR = 0.37 CI (0.21, 0.66)). Conclusions. Significant proportions of the community in Gimbi town were found to have poor perception of mental illness. Poor perception is common among old aged, less educated, private workers, those unable to access mental health information, and those with no family history of mental illness. Mental health education on possible causes, treatment options, and possible outcome of treatment to the community is required.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, mental health and mental disorders are not regarded with anything like the same importance as physical health [13]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies done in different areas have shown that poor perception towards the mentally ill is mainly deep rooted with various sociodemographic and other factors [7, 8, 10, 13–18]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Community Perception towards Mental Illness among Residents of Gimbi Town, Western Ethiopia

Benti¹,

Ebrahim

Awoke

et al. 2016

Psychiatry Journal

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“…The most prevalent belief about mental health among older adults was that individuals are accountable for their mental illness. Furthermore, SADIK, BRADLEY, AL-HASOON and JENKINS (2010) reported that in developing countries, although the aetiology of mental illness was understood, it was demonstrated that understanding the nature of mental illness is less prevalent, consequently resulting in negative attitudes and stigma. Nevertheless, individuals who are required to have a large amount of mental health knowledge such as general practitioners, continued to demonstrate negative stigma towards diagnosed patients (HANSSON et al 2013).…”

Section: Knowledge and Its Effect On Decreasing Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Mental Health Stigma: The Relationship between Knowledge and Attitude Change

Simmons¹,

Jones²,

Bradley³

2017

EJMH

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The impact of how knowledge can effect attitude change is important in order to understand the consequences for stigma. The relationship between increasing subject knowledge of mental health and attitude change was explored. The sample comprised 39 students (18 male and 21 female) from a university in the West Midlands. Participants' level of knowledge and stigma were recorded through pre-and post-tests using the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS), Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill (CAMI) and the Opinions about Mental Illness (OMI) scale. Information about mental illness was provided between conditions followed by a distractor task. Responses were calculated and combined to give an overall score. A sign test with continuity correction was used to see whether there was a difference in attitudes. The pre-and post-test conditions were scored. Results demonstrate a statistically significant median decrease in stigma in the post-test condition (p = 0.03). Therefore, this research provides support for the success of providing knowledge and information about mental illness in order to reduce stigma. Keywords

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Public attitudes towards psychiatry and psychiatric treatment at the beginning of the 21st century: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of population surveys

et al. 2017

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Public attitudes towards psychiatry are crucial determinants of help-seeking for mental illness. It has been argued that psychiatry as a discipline enjoys low esteem among the public, and a "crisis" of psychiatry has been noted. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of population studies examining public attitudes towards various aspects of psychiatric care. Our search in PubMed, Web of Science, PsychINFO and bibliographies yielded 162 papers based on population surveys conducted since 2000 and published no later than 2015. We found that professional help for mental disorders generally enjoys high esteem. While general practitioners are the preferred source of help for depression, mental health professionals are the most trusted helpers for schizophrenia. If respondents have to rank sources of help, they tend to favor mental health professionals, while open questions yield results more favorable to general practitioners. Psychiatrists and psychologists/psychotherapists are equally recommended for the treatment of schizophrenia, while for depression psychologists/psychotherapists are more recommended, at least in Europe and America. Psychotherapy is consistently preferred over medication. Attitudes towards seeking help from psychiatrists or psychologists/psychotherapists as well as towards medication and psychotherapy have markedly improved over the last twenty-five years. Biological concepts of mental illness are associated with stronger approval of psychiatric help, particularly medication. Self-stigma and negative attitudes towards persons with mental illness decrease the likelihood of personally considering psychiatric help. In conclusion, the public readily recommends psychiatric help for the treatment of mental disorders. Psychotherapy is the most popular method of psychiatric treatment. A useful strategy to further improve the public image of psychiatry could be to stress that listening and understanding are at the core of psychiatric care.Key words: Public attitudes, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychotropic medication, depression, schizophrenia, systematic review, metaanalysis (World Psychiatry 2017;16:50-61) In recent years, the notion of a crisis of psychiatry has spread in professional circles. In scientific journals, the question has been asked whether psychiatry is "on the ropes" 1 and "psychiatrists are an endangered species" 2 . Numerous internal threats to psychiatry (e.g., feeling of loss of autonomy, competing views which highlight biological or social factors, or tension between generalists and specialists) as well as external threats (e.g., changes related to health care and medical education policies, intrusion of other health professional groups into the territory which psychiatry claims for itself) have been identified 1,2 . There is also growing concern about the poor image of the discipline in the eyes of the general public as well as of medical students, health professionals and the media 3,4 . Psychiatrists increasingly feel underestimated as well as stigmatized and discr...

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Public perception of mental health in Iraq

Cited by 80 publications

References 17 publications

Community Perception towards Mental Illness among Residents of Gimbi Town, Western Ethiopia

Community Perception towards Mental Illness among Residents of Gimbi Town, Western Ethiopia

Reducing Mental Health Stigma: The Relationship between Knowledge and Attitude Change

Public attitudes towards psychiatry and psychiatric treatment at the beginning of the 21st century: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of population surveys

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