Abstract
BackgroundResearch examining the depression literacy of undergraduates in non-western developing countries is limited. This study explores this among undergraduates in Sri Lanka.MethodsA total of 4671 undergraduates responded to a survey presenting a vignette of a depressed undergraduate. They were asked to identify the problem, describe their intended help-seeking actions if affected by it and rate the helpfulness of a range of help-providers and interventions for dealing with it. Mental health experts also rated these options, providing a benchmark for assessing the undergraduates’ responses.ResultsOnly 17.4 % of undergraduates recognised depression, but this was significantly lower among those responding in Sinhala compared to English (3.5 vs 36.8 %). More undergraduates indicated intentions of seeking informal help, such as from friends and parents, than from professionals, such as psychiatrists and counsellors. However, a majority rated all these help-providers as ‘helpful’, aligning with expert opinion. Other options recommended by experts and rated as ‘helpful’ by a large proportion of undergraduates included counselling/psychological therapy and self-help strategies such as doing enjoyable activities and meditation/yoga/relaxation exercises. However, a low proportion of undergraduates rated “western medicine to improve mood” as ‘helpful’, deviating from expert opinion. Although not endorsed by experts, undergraduates indicated intentions of using religious strategies, highly endorsing these as ‘helpful’. Labelling the problem as depression and using mental health-related labels were both associated with higher odds of endorsing professional help, with the label ‘depression’ associated with endorsing a wider range of professional options.ConclusionsThe recognition rate of depression might be associated with the language used to label it. These undergraduates’ knowledge about the use of medication for depression needs improvement. Health promotion interventions for depressed undergraduates must be designed in light of the prevalent socio-cultural backdrop, such as the undergraduates’ high endorsement of informal and culturally relevant help-seeking. Improving their ability to recognise the problem as being mental health-related might trigger their use of professional options of help.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1589-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Research examining the depression literacy of undergraduates in non-western developing countries is limited
This study aimed to examine the depression literacy of undergraduates in Sri Lanka focussing on problemrecognition, knowledge about dealing with depression, and the association between these aspects
This paper examines depression literacy of University of Colombo undergraduates in the areas of problem-recognition, help-seeking intentions and treatment beliefs, and the associations among these
Summary
Research examining the depression literacy of undergraduates in non-western developing countries is limited. This study explores this among undergraduates in Sri Lanka. There is a large body of research examining mental health literacy of various populations, with depression extensively studied, most research focuses on developed countries, with inadequate examination of this area in the non-western developing world [11, 12]. This study focuses on examining depression literacy of undergraduates in Sri Lanka in the areas of problem-recognition and knowledge about dealing with depression. There has been no comprehensive study examining mental health literacy or mental-health-related practices of undergraduates in Sri Lanka far, indicating, the need for the present study. Given that mental health professionals in the country are limited [15] it becomes necessary to identify undergraduates’ knowledge and responses relating to mental disorders to develop feasible and effective mental health responses suitable for them
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have