Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mizan Tepi University, Mizan Aman, Southwest Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia.
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Mizan Tepi University, Mizan Aman, Southwest Ethiopia Regional State, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 11;19(10):e0310512. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310512. eCollection 2024.
Community perception of mental illness is a collective belief system and attitude about mental disorders; it affects the availability of services, the level of stigma, and the help-seeking intention. This study assessed community perceptions towards mental illness and help-seeking intentions in Southwest Ethiopia.
A community-based analytical cross-sectional study was done in Southwest Ethiopian People's Regional State (SWEPRS), from March 1st to June 30th, 2021. All adult individuals >18 years old living in the region were the source population, while all adult >18 years old living in the selected household were the study population. The calculated sample size was 1028. Participants were selected using a multistage sampling technique. A structured, interview-based questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data were entered into Epidata Manager and exported to SPSS for analysis.
The response rate for this study was 95.4%. The prevalence of poor perception and unfavorable help-seeking intention of mental illness were 45.8%, 95% CI (42.6, 48.9), and 49.5%, 95% CI (46.4, 52.7) respectively. Being rural [AOR = 1.94 (95% CI:(1.41, 2.66)]c, lack of information [AOR = 4.82(95% CI: (3.39,6.83)], exposure to mental illness [AOR = 4.11(95% CI:(2.64,6.38)] were significantly associated with poor perception of mental illness. Also, gating mental illness information [AOR = 0.40 (95% CI: (0.19, 0.83)], and being exposed to mental illness [AOR = 0.56 (95% CI: (0.41, 0.79)] were significantly associated with unfavorable help-seeking intentions for mental illness.
The high prevalence of poor perceptions and unfavorable help-seeking intentions for mental illness can be minimized through providing tailored information regarding the cause, type, and severity of the problem, particularly in the rural areas.
社区对精神疾病的看法是一种集体的信仰体系和对精神障碍的态度；它影响服务的可及性、污名化程度和寻求帮助的意愿。本研究评估了埃塞俄比亚西南部社区对精神疾病的看法和寻求帮助的意愿。
这是一项在埃塞俄比亚西南部人民地区（SWEPRS）进行的基于社区的分析性横断面研究，时间为 2021 年 3 月 1 日至 6 月 30 日。所有年龄在 18 岁以上的成年人都是该地区的源人群，而所有年龄在 18 岁以上的成年人都是选定家庭的研究人群。计算出的样本量为 1028 人。参与者采用多阶段抽样技术进行选择。使用基于访谈的结构化问卷收集数据。将数据输入 Epidata Manager 并导出到 SPSS 进行分析。
这项研究的应答率为 95.4%。精神疾病的不良认知和不良求助意愿的患病率分别为 45.8%，95%CI（42.6，48.9）和 49.5%，95%CI（46.4，52.7）。农村居民[比值比（AOR）=1.94（95%置信区间：1.41，2.66）]、缺乏信息[AOR=4.82（95%置信区间：3.39，6.83）]、接触精神疾病[AOR=4.11（95%置信区间：2.64，6.38）]与不良认知显著相关。此外，屏蔽精神疾病信息[AOR=0.40（95%置信区间：0.19，0.83）]和接触精神疾病[AOR=0.56（95%置信区间：0.41，0.79）]与对精神疾病的不良求助意愿显著相关。
通过提供有关问题的原因、类型和严重程度的针对性信息，可以最大限度地减少对精神疾病的不良认知和不良求助意愿的高患病率，特别是在农村地区。
