Abstract

Objective There are no studies that have explored attitudes towards mental illness that are held by rural primary healthcare (PHC) providers. The aim of this study was to conduct evidential and comparative research about attitudes towards mental illness among primary healthcare providers from different mental health service models in China rural communities. Methods A self-administered questionnaire was conducted with a total of 361 rural primary healthcare providers engaged in mental health service delivery. Results Total attitude score mark of rural primary healthcare providers shows that most PHC providers still held pessimistic and negative attitude towards mental illness patients. 71.3% of respondents agreed that “the mental patients often impulsively perform destruction of property”; 72.9% agreed that “mental patients are burdens to the families and society.” There are also positive correlations between attitudes and abilities of primary healthcare providers to mental illness. Conclusion This study provides baseline evidence that primary healthcare providers in rural China hold negative attitudes towards mental illness. It is critical to improve negative attitudes and understanding about the importance of the management of severe mental illness among rural primary healthcare workers in mental health services. We should take comprehensive methods to enrich primary healthcare providers' professional knowledge about mental illness and eliminate discrimination and inappropriate perception against the mental illness.

Highlights

  • Integrating mental health services into primary care World Health Organization (WHO) report showed that integrating mental health services into primary care generates good health outcomes at reasonable costs

  • The primary healthcare (PHC) provider is the largest group of mental health service workforce, so their attitudes towards mental illness may affect the quality of mental health services [3]

  • A total of 316 PHC providers in the six towns agreed to participate in the study, and 291 of them completed all interviews

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Summary

Objective

There are no studies that have explored attitudes towards mental illness that are held by rural primary healthcare (PHC) providers. The aim of this study was to conduct evidential and comparative research about attitudes towards mental illness among primary healthcare providers from different mental health service models in China rural communities. A self-administered questionnaire was conducted with a total of 361 rural primary healthcare providers engaged in mental health service delivery. Total attitude score mark of rural primary healthcare providers shows that most PHC providers still held pessimistic and negative attitude towards mental illness patients. This study provides baseline evidence that primary healthcare providers in rural China hold negative attitudes towards mental illness. It is critical to improve negative attitudes and understanding about the importance of the management of severe mental illness among rural primary healthcare workers in mental health services. We should take comprehensive methods to enrich primary healthcare providers’ professional knowledge about mental illness and eliminate discrimination and inappropriate perception against the mental illness

Introduction
Methods
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