A Study of Patient's Perspective of Schizophrenia Using Emic Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s249-s249
Author(s):  
D. Sanyal ◽  
D. Das
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Faith Healer ◽  
Mental Health Specialist ◽  
Health Specialist ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Emic Perspective

IntroductionKnowledge about how patients perceive mental illness and how it possibly influences help seeking behaviour is important in development of proper plan for mental health reform.ObjectiveThis study planned to study disease related perception, first help seeking behaviour and stigma among schizophrenia patients admitted at a hospital.Aims(1) To know about patient's view regarding the problems; (2) attempt to predict help seeking behaviour.MethodsFifty-one patients suffering from schizophrenia according to DSM-5 and fit to be interviewed were assessed using EMIC (Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue) to get emic (insider or person's own cultural) perspective of disease related perception, help seeking behaviour and stigma.ResultsTerms used to describe their illness included “depression” (21.6%), “mental” (17.6%) “matha kharap” (9.8%). Most common perceived cause was stress (25.5%) and sorcery (23.5). Mental health specialist was visited by 27.5% Faith healer consultation was high (29.4%). Stigma score was higher with marriage related issues and social isolation. Using exhaustive CHAID analysis, it was found that patients with negative themes as disease name like “matha kharap” (loosely meaning crazy) are more likely to visit faith healers, while patients naming the condition with some medical related term like depression were more likely to visit mental health specialist.ConclusionClearly perception of patients regarding mental illness and its causation varies greatly from the way psychiatrists’ viewpoint and this perception is likely to influence help seeking behaviour. Understanding these issues is likely to enable better patient awareness and proper formulation of plans to address mental health issues.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Help Seeking Behaviour of Chinese Living in Belfast, Northern Ireland

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Y.-W. Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Psychological Problem ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Covering Letter ◽  
Language Difficulty ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Chinese And English

Aims:British Chinese have a low uptake of mental health servcies. Poor symptom recognition, language difficulty and mental illness stigma are the key barriers to accessing services. This study aims to explore their help seeking behaviours when they experience mental illness.Methods:About 96% of Chinese in Northern Ireland worked in catering business. Questionnaires (both in Chinese and English) were sent to ninety-one addresses occupied by catering businesses in Belfast. A bilingual covering letter was enclosed to encourage recipients to ask their families and friends to return the questionnaires.Results:Twenty-four questionnaires were returned. 66.6% reported that they visited their GP within the year prior to the study. Only one person visited the GP becasue of a mental / psychological problem. All others visited their GP for their physical illness. Racism (58.3%), physical ill health (50%) and lack of social support (41.7%) were the key stressors. 21% would visit their GP if they had a mental health problem and 45.8% would contact the GP if someone they knew became mentally unwell. Poor recognition of mental illness (41.7%) and mental illness stigma (25%) were the reasons for not seeking medical advice.Conclusion:Findings revealed that the Chinese do seek help from their GP. However, little evidence suggests that the community will approach their GP when they or someone they know actually become mentally unwell. Further investigation is needed to explore diifferent ways to provide information about mental illness symptoms and mental health services for the community.

Attitudes towards help seeking behaviour and professional psychiatric help in Slovenia

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S183-S184
Author(s):  
S. Roškar ◽  
M. Bračič ◽  
U. Kolar ◽  
N. Konec Juričič ◽  
K. Lekić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Health History ◽  
Mental Health History ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
On Line ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionKnowledge about signs and treatment of mental illnesses is often not enough to seek professional help. Hence, it is important to gain understanding of other determinants, i.e. attitudes, stigma, which influence help-seeking behaviour.ObjectivesBased on Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, we aimed at collecting data of determinants known to be related to behavioural action, in our case help seeking.AimsTo examine how attitudes, stigma and normative believes influence help seeking behaviour and whether these determinants differ in relation to demographic data and mental health indicators of the respondents’ region.MethodsA representative sample of adult Slovene population (n = 594) was recruited via an on-line invitation. They were asked to (i) provide basic demographic data (region, age, gender, mental health history…) and (ii) to complete the inventory of attitudes toward seeking mental health services. The inventory variables (attitudes, knowledge and stigma) were linked to demographic data and mental health indicators in Slovenia.ResultsThe respondents dispose of good knowledge of where and when to seek help either for themselves or others. However, the readiness to seek help was significantly lower, in particular so in men, younger, single persons and respondents from regions with lower mental health indicators. Accordingly, stigma was significantly higher pronounced in the same groups. More than 50% of respondents have already experienced mental distress, however only 25% have sought help.ConclusionsReasons for this “help seeking gap” should be further scrutinized. Future interventions shall be focused on changing attitudes and destigmatization mental health issues.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Suck It Up: Opinions and Attitudes about Mental Illness Stigma and Help-Seeking Behaviour of Male Varsity Football Players

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Delenardo ◽  
Jenepher Lennox Terrion
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Football Players ◽  
Football Team ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Elite Level ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the attitudes and opinions of varsity football players toward mental health and help-seeking. The insights gained from this study may contribute to a greater understanding of how stigma functions in a competitive, elite-level football team. The authors concluded that the competitive edge required for success in elite athletics conflicts with mental health issues and illnesses. Components of the stigma process (labelling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination), along with the impact of gender on stigma toward mental illness and help-seeking behaviours, are explored. Recommendations are made to broaden the scope of mental health initiatives for student athletes.

scholarly journals Predictors of help-seeking behaviour in people with mental health problems: a 3-year prospective community study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin M. Doll ◽  
Chantal Michel ◽  
Marlene Rosen ◽  
Naweed Osman ◽  
Benno G. Schimmelmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Community Study ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Anticipated Stigma

Abstract Background The majority of people with mental illness do not seek help at all or only with significant delay. To reduce help-seeking barriers for people with mental illness, it is therefore important to understand factors predicting help-seeking. Thus, we prospectively examined potential predictors of help-seeking behaviour among people with mental health problems (N = 307) over 3 years. Methods Of the participants of a 3-year follow-up of a larger community study (response rate: 66.4%), data of 307 (56.6%) persons with any mental health problems (age-at-baseline: 16–40 years) entered a structural equation model of the influence of help-seeking, stigma, help-seeking attitudes, functional impairments, age and sex at baseline on subsequent help-seeking for mental health problems. Results Functional impairment at baseline was the strongest predictor of follow-up help-seeking in the model. Help-seeking at baseline was the second-strongest predictor of subsequent help-seeking, which was less likely when help-seeking for mental health problems was assumed to be embarrassing. Personal and perceived stigma, and help-seeking intentions had no direct effect on help-seeking. Conclusions With only 22.5% of persons with mental health problems seeking any help for these, there was a clear treatment gap. Functional deficits were the strongest mediator of help-seeking, indicating that help is only sought when mental health problems have become more severe. Earlier help-seeking seemed to be mostly impeded by anticipated stigma towards help-seeking for mental health problems. Thus, factors or beliefs conveying such anticipated stigma should be studied longitudinally in more detail to be able to establish low-threshold services in future.

scholarly journals Attitudes of people working in mental health non-governmental organisations in Australia: A comparison with other mental health professionals

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 205510291876541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grenville Rose ◽  
Courtney von Hippel ◽  
Loren Brener ◽  
Bill von Hippel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Mental Health Clients

Research suggests that stigma impacts help-seeking behaviour and health outcomes for people affected by mental illness. This study compared the attitudes of Australian non-governmental organisation support workers towards people with mental illness with those of other health professionals. Three hundred and seventy four support workers were randomly allocated to answer questions about one of the six vignettes. Results indicated that non-governmental organisation support workers held more positive attitudes towards people with mental illness than those of general practitioners, psychiatrists and psychologists measured in prior research. These results suggest that non-governmental organisations may be a more positive and comfortable entry and referral point for mental health clients.

Enhancing mental health literacy in India to reduce stigma: the fountainhead to improve help-seeking behaviour

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shivani Mathur Gaiha ◽  
Greeshma Ann Sunil ◽  
Rajeev Kumar ◽  
Subhadra Menon
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour

Purpose – Lack of understanding around mental illness and stigma are an overwhelming barrier in help-seeking behaviour for mental health concerns. The purpose of this paper is to examine mental health literacy and social attitudes as instrumental factors in building capacity of the demand-side to support and access mental health care at the community level in India. Design/methodology/approach – Knowledge, Attitude and Practice surveys were administered to 521 persons from the general population, distributed equally in the age range of 15-60 years. The study included 52 respondents per district from ten districts across five states in India, namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The responses were collected and analysed thematically, keeping in mind the relevance of these findings as contributors to knowledge of mental health and to the construct of stigma. Findings – Pervasive socio-cultural factors, especially stigma inhibit access to basic mental health information and care, despite knowledge that mental illness is treatable. Degrading treatment, loss of personal liberty and social exclusion, i.e. compromised human rights at the community level are widespread. Self-reported attitudes when encountering a person with mental illness show that respondents act out of fear and are guided by misinformation and myths. Extant knowledge on mental health is attributed predominantly to informal networks, as a potential resource to be strengthened. Practical implications – Realising mental health care, including help-seeking behaviour calls for greater knowledge-sharing, sensitisation and community engagement. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need to study current levels of mental health literacy and underlying perceptions that contribute to the persistent treatment gap.

Research on help-seeking for mental illness in Africa: Dominant approaches and possible alternatives

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 696-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Binary Oppositions ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour

There is growing concern within the global mental health arena that interventions currently being executed to scale up mental health services in Africa will be ineffective unless simultaneous steps are taken to address people’s help-seeking behaviour. Drawing upon two conceptual tools arising from science and technology studies (STS), those of a “classification system” and “the black box,” this paper looks critically at discursive constructions of help-seeking in Africa within mental health research over the last decade. Research in this area can be divided into two dominant traditions: the knowledge-belief-practice survey and indigenous-knowledge-system approaches. Although the content and value-codes between these approaches differ, structurally they are very similar. Both are mediated by the same kind of system of classification, which demarcates the world into homogenous entities and binary oppositions. This system of ordering is one of the most stubborn and powerful forms of classification buried in the “black box” of the modernist/colonial knowledge archive and is fraught with many questionable Eurocentric epistemological assumptions. I consider whether there might be other ways of understanding help-seeking for mental illness in Africa and discuss two studies that illustrate such alternative approaches. In conclusion, I discuss some of the challenges this alternative kind of research faces in gaining more influence within contemporary global mental health discourse and practice.

Magico-religious Beliefs Stigma and Help-seeking Behaviour among the Caregivers of Persons with Schizophrenia

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Mrinal Basumatary ◽  
Arif Ali ◽  
Buli Nag Daimari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Faith Healer ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Family Interview ◽  
Persons With Schizophrenia ◽  
Informal Groups

Background: The cultural and traditional aspects of caregivers of people with mental illness have been seen widely, where the faith healers are the immediate source for treatment. Due to poor understanding of mental illness and stigma among caregivers, people often seek traditional help than modern medical treatment. Aim: To assess the Magico-religious beliefs, stigma and help seeking behaviour among the caregivers of persons with schizophrenia. Methods and Materials: Descriptive research design was used. Seventy caregivers of persons with schizophrenia attending the outpatient department of LGBRIMH, Tezpur, Assam were purposefully taken for the study. Socio-demographic datasheet, Family Interview Schedule (stigma section), Super Natural Attitude Questionnaire and General Help Seeking Questionnaire were administered. Results: Prevalence of the stigma was 100%. The majority (80%) of care giver's locality and community believe in Jadu Tona, 75.7% have performed puja/ritual/jhad-phook, 72.9% visited or consulted faith healer, 67.1% talk about or believe in bhoot pret, Jadu Tona (65.7%), Opari kasar (64.3%), 68.6% believed that performing puja/rituals/jhad-phook can change patient's behaviour. Majority 57.6% care giver showed high help-seeking behaviour while 42.4% showed low help-seeking behaviour. Majority of the caregivers seek help from the parents (5.47±1.20). Conclusion: Supernatural beliefs and stigma found to be common among the caregivers of persons with schizophrenia. Caregivers have higher help-seeking behaviour from informal groups than formal groups.

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