An exploration of understandings of major depressive disorder in a South African Indian Muslim female community

Abstract

ABSTRACTDepression is a serious mental illness that has severe socio-economic costs. Studying the impact of various cultural beliefs on the understandings of depression is imperative as findings could assist with developing effective intervention strategies. This research aimed to explore the understandings South African Muslim females have of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) with a focus on cultural and religious factors that may underlie these understandings. A mixed methods study was conducted using 12 semi-structured interviews and 62 questionnaires. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data. The results clustered around four main themes: participants’ understanding of MDD, perceptions around the etiology of MDD, treatment of MDD and the influence of culture on perceptions of MDD. It is evident that there is a better understanding of MDD in the sample in comparison to previous studies but there is still much misperception around MDD in the broader community.