UTILIZATION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE BY ZAMBIA DEFENCE FORCES PERSONNEL AND THEIR CARETAKERS AT MAINA SOKO MEDICAL CENTRE, LUSAKA, ZAMBIA

Abstract

Globally, mental health is recognized as an important component of health, despite it being one of the most neglected conditions in the health sector. In many cases, people seek out a mental health expert only after a crisis has occurred. The aim of the study was to determine the factors affecting the utilization of mental health services in the Zambia defence force in Lusaka at Maina Soko medical centre in Lusaka district. The study was conducted among patients, family members and members of staff from Maina Soko Medical Centre. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Firstly, a pilot study was carried out at Arakan Garrison Hospital in Lusaka before conducting the actual study. A simple random sampling method was used to select 167 study participants. Data was collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data for all the respondents were entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (SPSS). Using SPSS, frequency tables, pie charts and cross-tabulations were carried out to determine special relationships between dependent and independent variables. A chi-square test was carried out to test associations among variables. With the confidence interval set at 95 percent, the P-value was used to ascertain the degree of significance by using the decision rule which rejects the null hypothesis if P-value is equal or less than that of 0.05. The findings revealed that 86 percent of the respondents who had no knowledge about mental health services never utilized mental health services (p value 0.011), 73 percent of respondents who had no social support never utilized mental health services (p value 0.020), 80 percent with moderate combat exposure utilized mental health services (p-value 0.039) and 88 percent revealed the emotional challenges they face due to stigma and hence compromise on seeking mental health services (p-value 0.066). Overall, the findings have important implications for research policy and programme efforts towards improved utilization of mental health services and designing interventions to mitigate mental illness and its determinants..<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0023/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>