Mental health literacy, attitude, and help seeking intention among a particularly vulnerable tribe

Bibliographic Details
Title: Mental health literacy, attitude, and help seeking intention among a particularly vulnerable tribe
Authors: Flavia Sharlet Noronha, Tessy Treesa Jose, Linu Sara George, Rajeshkrishna Panambur Bhandary, Samir Kumar Praharaj, Ravishankar, Prasanna Naik
Source: Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, Vol 29, Iss , Pp 101706- (2024)
Publisher Information: Elsevier, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Public aspects of medicine
Subject Terms: Tribal population, Knowledge, Stigma, Mental health, Common mental disorders, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270
More Details: Background: Mental health, when compared to physical health and wellbeing, is the most neglected area. The health status of the tribal population is in pitiable condition and is heavily influenced by its socio-cultural factors and poor health care delivery system. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, mental help seeking intention for common mental health problems and factors associated with the study variables among the tribal population. Method: ology: House-to-house survey was done between January to April 2022. Data was collected using standardized tools like Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire (MHKQ), Community Attitude towards Mentally Ill scale (CAMIS), and Mental Help Seeking Intention scale (MHSIS). Results: Only six participants out of 400 reported that they are aware of someone in their community suffering from mental health problems. The majority (80 %) of the participants had fairly good knowledge regarding mental health, and 68 % of them had a favorable attitude towards mentally ill. It was also found that 79.2 % of the participants hold favorable attitude with an OR = 1.40 (0.50,3.90) suggesting that there is a statistically difference in the odds of favorable attitude being present among illiterate people (p = 0.003). When comparing the odds ratio between the groups, keeping females as reference for comparison, it is evident that males OR = 0.44 (0.21,0.94) are less likely to have good knowledge. Moderately strong (statistically significant at p = .05) relationship was seen between the subscales of attitude towards mentally ill and knowledge regarding mental health among the Koraga population. Conclusion: It has been found that awareness regarding common mental disorders is increasing among the tribals, but it is not accompanied by a favorable attitude. The study concluded that interventional research is needed to reduce the stigma and the treatment gap in mental illness.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2213-3984
Relation: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213398424002021; https://doaj.org/toc/2213-3984
DOI: 10.1016/j.cegh.2024.101706
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/d210f626084b4fbfa2943f46ccdbcdd8
Accession Number: edsdoj.210f626084b4fbfa2943f46ccdbcdd8
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:22133984
DOI:10.1016/j.cegh.2024.101706
Published in:Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health
Language:English