Department of Community Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Mushin.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2022 Sep 29;14(1):e1-e8. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v14i1.3547.
Globally, the public health importance of mental health has gained significant attention in recent years. In Africa, many traditional belief systems impact the perceptions, attitude and management of mental illness. Women are usually the primary caregivers of mentally ill persons, but they have lower mental health literacy.
To assess rural women's knowledge, perceptions and attitudes regarding mental illnesses and the role of traditional beliefs in their management.
Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria.
This was a cross-sectional study with a total of 295 rural women recruited through a multistage sampling method. A pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Summary and inferential statistics were measured using Epi Info version 7. The level of significance was predetermined at 5%.
A total of 253 questionnaires were adequately filled and analysed. Overall, just over one-third (35%) of respondents had good knowledge and only 26% had positive attitudes towards mental health and illness. About 45% reported that mental illness should first be treated in 'the traditional way', whilst 47% felt that there was no need for collaboration between orthodox and unorthodox healthcare for mental illness. Sociodemographic variables were significantly associated with knowledge (educational level p = 0.001) and attitude (marital status p = 0.001 and ethnicity p = 0.001).
Respondents had poor knowledge of and attitude towards mental health, and traditional beliefs played a role in their perception and management of mental illness. We recommend community-based health education programmes to improve knowledge and help-seeking for mental illness amongst rural women.
近年来，全球范围内，心理健康的公共卫生重要性受到了广泛关注。在非洲，许多传统信仰体系影响着人们对精神疾病的看法、态度和管理。女性通常是精神病患者的主要照顾者，但她们的心理健康素养较低。
评估农村妇女对精神疾病的认知、看法和态度，以及传统信仰在其管理中的作用。
尼日利亚拉各斯州埃佩地方政府区。
这是一项横断面研究，共招募了 295 名农村妇女，采用多阶段抽样方法。使用经过预测试的访谈者管理问卷收集数据。使用 Epi Info 版本 7 测量汇总和推理统计数据。显著性水平预先设定为 5%。
共充分填写和分析了 253 份问卷。总的来说，只有略多于三分之一（35%）的受访者有良好的知识，只有 26%对心理健康和疾病持有积极态度。约 45%的人报告说，精神疾病应该首先以“传统方式”治疗，而 47%的人认为在精神疾病的正统和非正统医疗保健之间没有合作的必要。社会人口学变量与知识（教育水平 p=0.001）和态度（婚姻状况 p=0.001 和族裔 p=0.001）显著相关。
受访者对心理健康的知识和态度较差，传统信仰在他们对精神疾病的看法和管理中发挥了作用。我们建议开展基于社区的健康教育计划，以提高农村妇女对精神疾病的认识和寻求帮助的能力。
