Abstract
BackgroundKnowledge of the community regarding mental health problems has a remarkable impact on the attitude, the help-seeking path, and prevention of stigma and discrimination against patients with mental health problems. It is also the cornerstone for designing evidence-based community mental health interventions. However, the evidence is scarce in developing countries like Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the knowledge regarding mental health problems and associated factors among communities of Jimma Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Jimma zone from March 1 to 22, 2020. A structured, pretested, and interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 420 study participants selected through a systematic sampling technique. The knowledge about mental health was measured by the adapted version of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule tool. Data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23.0 for analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done, and p-value < 0.05 and 95% CI were used to determine the predictors of the outcome variable.ResultsThe overall knowledge score showed (188, 44.8%) of the respondents had inadequate knowledge. Moreover, (75, 17.9%) of the respondents reported psychiatric disorders are contagious, and (138, 32.9%) mentioned leaving alone is the treatment for mental illness. Talking or laughing alone and showing strange or unusual behaviors were described as symptoms of mental illness by the majority (407, 96.9%) and (403, 96.0%) of respondents, respectively. Brain dysfunction was attributed to the cause of mental illness by most (390, 92.9%) of the study participants. Similarly, the percentage of responses that attributed the causes of mental illness to possession by an evil spirit, God’s punishment, and witchcraft were significantly high (368, 87.6%), (321, 76.4%) and (259, 67.1%), respectively. Furthermore, regression analysis showed that respondents who were able to read and write were 64% less likely to have adequate knowledge than those in secondary school and above educational status (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI (0.16–0.69)).ConclusionKnowledge of mental illness among the general public was relatively poor and higher levels of education were associated with good knowledge of mental health problems; this suggests the need for due emphasis on public education to improve the mental health literacy status of the community.
Highlights
Knowledge of the community regarding mental health problems has a remarkable impact on the attitude, the help-seeking path, and prevention of stigma and discrimination against patients with mental health problems
Most of the study participants were from the Oromo ethnic group (395, 94%) and Muslims (384, 91.4%)
General knowledge of the respondents regarding mental health problems Almost all (404, 96.2%) of the study participants knew psychiatric disorders are a kind of medical disorder, and the majority (362, 86.2%) recognize psychiatric disorders as treatable
Summary
Knowledge of the community regarding mental health problems has a remarkable impact on the attitude, the help-seeking path, and prevention of stigma and discrimination against patients with mental health problems. It is the cornerstone for designing evidence-based community mental health interventions. Despite being imperative for human existence, in many countries, unlike the importance given to physical health, mental health has been relegated. This could partly be due to the myths and misconceptions surrounding mental illnesses in many parts of the world [5,6,7]
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