Community Mental Health Ideology Research Articles

Effectiveness of a Problem-Solving, Story-Bridge Mental Health Literacy Programme in Improving Ghanaian Community Leaders’ Attitudes towards People with Mental Illness: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

In Ghana, people with mental disorders commonly experience negative attitudes and discrimination because of deep-rooted public stigma. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of a mental health literacy programme in improving community leaders’ attitudes toward people with mental disorders. A cluster randomised controlled trial, comprising an intervention and control group, participated in a 3-hour problem-solving, Story-bridge mental health literacy programme. Data were collected at baseline and 12-week follow-up. The intervention group performed better in most outcome measures at follow-up compared to the control group. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups, in perceived stigma, community mental health ideology (CMHI), and benevolence outcome measures over the two time-points. Overall, the findings suggest that the programme was somewhat effective in improving community leaders’ attitudes and who might, subsequently, foster supportive, non-judgemental and empathetic attitudes toward individuals with mental disorders in their communities. There is scope for community psychiatric nurses and other primary health care workers to work with community leaders to increase public awareness of, and favourable attitudes toward, people with mental health problems in the community.

Perspectives of GCSE students attending a psychiatry summer school in south London.

This study evaluated a pilot psychiatry summer school for GCSE students in terms of participant experience, effects on attitudes to mental illness and perception of psychiatry as a career option. This was done using the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill scale, career choice questionnaires and a discussion group following the week-long programme attended by 26 students. Students were significantly more likely to choose psychiatry after the summer school (P = 0.01). There were statistically significant changes in scores for social restrictiveness (P = 0.04) and community mental health ideology (P = 0.02). Qualitative analysis generated four themes: variation in expectations, limited prior knowledge, perception of the summer school itself and uniformly positive attitudes to psychiatry after the summer school. Targeting students at this early stage appears to be an underexplored positive intervention for improving both attitudes towards mental illness and recruitment to psychiatry.

Perceived Stigma Towards Mental Illness and Its Associated Factors among Community People of Pokhara Metropolitan, Kaski, Nepal

Introduction: Mental illness is a major and neglected public health problem. People suffering from mental health problems are among the foremost stigmatized, discriminated, marginalized, disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our society. According to the World Health Organization, 450 million people are suffering from mental illness worldwide and around 80% of them live in middle and low-income countries. In spite of the high burden of mental disorders, globally, around 70% of people with mental illness do not receive any treatment, and evidence suggests that stigma plays a major role in treatment avoidance. The objective of this study is to assess the level of perceived stigma towards mental illness and its associated factors among community people of Pokhara Metropolitan.
 Methods: A community based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the people of Pokhara Metropolitan. Systematic random sampling was employed for the selection of 292 participants. Face to face interview was conducted for the data collection using Community Attitude Towards Mental Illness (CAMI) scale. Chi square test was used to find the association between variables and stigma towards mental illness on different subscales of CAMI scale.
 Results: The overall prevalence of stigma towards mental illness was 72.9%. The prevalence of stigma was high under all the four domains of CAMI scale. Age, education, occupation and income were significantly associated with stigma score in all domains. Marital status had significant association to authoritarian as well as social restrictiveness domains score. However, sex and family history of mental illness was associated with Benevolence and community mental health ideology score respectively.
 Conclusion: The findings of the study depicted that stigma towards mental illness is high among the community people in all four subscales of CAMI scale. The study has revealed the stigma towards mental illness is influenced by the various socio-demographic and socioeconomic factors. This study suggested that there is strong need to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness to improve the mental health status of the region.

Effects of Movie-based Awareness Improvement Program on Attitudes toward Mental Illness among University Nursing Students

The purpose of this study is to develop and apply a movie-based program to university nursing students to improve their negative awareness of mentally ill persons. The study used a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a nonequivalent control group. The program decreased the scores of authoritarianism and social restrictiveness toward mentally ill persons and increased the scores of benevolence and community mental health ideology among the experimental group than the control group who did not participate in the program. The movie-based mental illness awareness improvement program was found to be an effective intervention in improving the attitude of university nursing students toward mentally ill persons. Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to expand the application of this program to various groups to promote national awareness. In addition, it is suggested that long-term follow-up studies should be conducted to consider individual personality differences and verify the persistence of the effects through repeated measurements.

Bir Hemşirelik Bölümündeki Öğrencilerin Ruhsal Bozukluğu Olan Bireylere Karşı Tutumları ve İlişkili Faktörler

Objective: This study was designed as a descriptive study to determine the attitudes of nursing students towards individuals who have mental disorders and the factors related to these attitudes. Study Design: The universe of this study consisted of 233 students who continued their nursing education at a foundation university and the sample of this study consisted of 214 students who accepted to participate in the study. The data of the study were collected using the “Personal Information Form” and “The Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill CAMI ” between January, 19 and February, 22 2016, after the permissions of the ethical committee and the institution. Results: According to the results of the study; the mean score of “Benevolence” subscale of nursing students in the second class, who didn’t take a Psychiatric Nursing course and who didn’t have or didn’t encounter any individuals or patients with mental disorders around them were found statistically and significantly higher than those from other classes p=0.001; p=0.036; p=0.005 . It was determined that students who previously had completed an academic program had statistically and significantly a higher mean of “Social Restrictiveness” subscale than the others p=0.03 . The means of “Community Mental Health Ideology” subscale p=0.003 and “Benevolence” subscale p = 0.007 of students who did not see/visit a psychiatrist or a psychologist due to any psychological complaints were found statistically and significantly higher than the others. Moreover, “Community Mental Health Ideology” subscale p=0.042 and “ Benevolence” subscale p = 0.028 of students who did not have any family members who took psychiatric treatment or physical examination were found to be statistically and significantly higher than the others. Conclusion: As a result of this study, it was found that theoretical and practical education were not effective enough in changing the attitudes of the students. In this direction, it is recommended to plan activities for vulnerable groups and psychosocial problems such as stigmatization, discrimination and social exclusion in the nursing education curriculum

Stigma for mental disorders among the elderly population in a rural setting

Aim: The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the extent of stigma for mental disorders among the older adults (aged ≥60 years) from a rural background visiting a general outpatient's clinic at the civil hospital as an attendant of patients. The secondary objective of the study was to assess the correlation of stigma with the sociodemographic profile and family history of mental illness. Methodology: One hundred and four older adults (aged ≥60 years) from a rural background visiting a general outpatient's clinic at the civil hospital as an attendant of patients with physical illnesses were evaluated on Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill (CAMI) Scale. Results: About three-fifths of the participants (59.6%) were females. About one-third (32.7%) of the study participants had a family history of mental illness. On CAMI Scale, the highest score was obtained in the domain of benevolence (BE), followed by authoritarian, community mental health ideology (CMHI), and social restrictiveness (SR). Those with a family history of mental illness and from middle socioeconomic status scored significantly higher on the SR domain of CAMI. Level of education had a significant positive correlation with the scores in the domains of BE, SR, and CMHI. Age had a significant negative correlation with the SR domain score. Conclusions: Elderly in a rural setting, in general, have a positive attitude toward mental illness and have a lower level of stigma associated with mental illnesses. Certain demographic and clinical variables such as middle socioeconomic status, low level of education, and presence of mental illness are associated with stigma.

Yetişkinlerin Ruhsal Hastalığa/Hastalara Yönelik Tutumları

Çalışmada yetişkinlerin ruhsal hastalığa/hastalara yönelik tutumlarının incelenmesi amaçlandı. Tanımlayıcı ve kesitsel tipte tasarlanan bu araştırmada, veriler 15 Mart-15 Mayıs 2016 tarihleri arasında, bir il merkezindeki Aile Sağlığı Merkezi’nden sağlık hizmeti alan ve çalışmaya gönüllülük esasıyla katılan, 312 yetişkin bireyden anket yöntemi ile yüz yüze görüşerek toplandı. Bu araştırmadaki veriler, Tanımlayıcı Özellikler Formu ve Ruhsal Sorunlu Bireylere Yönelik Toplum Tutumları Ölçeği kullanılarak toplandı. Veriler, SPSS 20.0 programıyla değerlendirildi. Tanımlayıcı istatistikler (sayı, yüzde, ortalama, standart sapma) ve nonparametrik testler (Kruskall-Wallis Testi, Mann-Whitney U Testi) kullanıldı. Araştırmaya katılan kişilerin %51.3’ü kadın ve katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 39.32±11.51’dir. Toplum ruh sağlığı ideolojisi alt ölçek puan ortalaması 29.0±4.0, iyi niyet alt ölçek puan ortalaması 27.8±3.8, korku/dışlama alt ölçek puan ortalaması 6.1±1.7 ve toplam ölçek puan ortalaması 63.0±7.3’tür. Kadınların, iyi niyet, korku/dışlama ve toplam ölçek puan ortalamalarının; erkeklere göre, üniversite mezunu olanların toplam puan ortalamasının, ilkokul ve lise mezunu olanlara göre, kentsel çevrede yetişenlerin korku/dışlama alt ölçek puan ortalamasının, kırsal çevrede yetişenlere göre anlamlı düzeyde yüksek olduğu ve bu sonuçların istatistiksel açıdan anlamlılık taşıdığı saptandı (p<0.05). Araştırmaya katılanlardan kadınların ruhsal hastalığı erkeklere göre daha çok kabullendiği, erkeklere göre ruhsal hastalıklardan daha çok korktuğu, kentsel çevrede yetişenlerin kırsal çevrede yetişenlere göre, ruhsal hastalığa karşı daha çok olumsuz tutum gösterdikleri, üniversite ve lise mezunlarının ruhsal hastalığı daha çok kabullendiği belirlendi. Toplumun ruhsal hastalıklar konusunda görüşlerinin belirlenmesi ve olumsuz görüşlerinin değişimine yönelik bilgilendirici eğitimlerin yapılması önerilmektedir.

Change in attitude of ASHAs towards persons with mental illnesses following participation in community based rehabilitation project.

Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) play an important role in health care in rural India. To study the change in attitude of ASHAs towards persons with mental illness (PMI) after involvement in a community-based rehabilitation program. ASHAs (n = 95) were trained to identify and refer PMI. Community Attitudes to Mental Illness scale was administered at baseline and after 18 months of training. Domains of benevolence, social restrictiveness, and community mental health ideology showed significant improvement p < 0.001. There was no change in authoritarianism domain. Engaging ASHAs in identification, referral and treatment positively changes their attitudes towards PMI.

Community attitudes towards the mentally ill in Serbia

Introduction. Integration of the mentally ill into the community is one of the essential objectives of social rehabilitation. Deinstitutionalization is one of the central points of contemporary mental health reforms across the world. The acceptance of people with mental health problems in the general population is an important factor in determining the success of implementing deinstitutionalization strategies. Furthermore, medical students during their education attain knowledge about mental health problems as standard part of their curriculum. Quantifying the outlook towards people with mental health problems in future doctors is an important determinant of prospective community-based care. Aim. Assessment of community attitudes towards the mentally ill in a representative sample of General Population, as well as in future medical doctors in Serbia. Method. This cross-sectional study involved 1068 Serbian speaking adult subjects: 562 medical students and 506 subjects from the general population. Assessment of attitudes was measured by Community Attitudes Towards the Mentally Ill. Four dimensions of attitudes were extracted: Authoritarianism, Benevolence, Social Restrictiveness and Community Mental Health Ideology. Results. Medical Students showed more favorable attitudes across all dimensions when compared to the representative sample of General Population. In the General Population, less years of education were associated with higher levels of Authoritarian attitudes towards the mentally ill. Female gender was consistently associated with greater Benevolence, irrespective of group affiliation. Conclusion. Existing positive attitudes towards the mentally ill in the Serbian community suggest that once legislative proceedings for better integration of the mentally ill in the broader society are initiated, we can expect fast and admirable effects in the community management. Focused educational and anti-stigma interventions targeting the general population should be devised.

Investigation of attitudes toward mental illness among nursing students in Indonesia

ObjectivePeople with mental illness (PMI) are often stigmatized or experience negative attitudes from society. In particular, nursing students’ attitudes toward PMI will influence the quality of care these patients receive. Some factors influencing attitudes toward PMI among nursing students have been identified. The present study aimed to examine factors influencing attitudes toward mental illness among nursing students in Indonesia. MethodsNursing students (n = 317) were assessed for attitudes toward mental illness using the Community Attitude toward the Mentally Ill questionnaire. Details regarding sociodemographic variables (age, gender, ethnicity, year of study, monthly family income, personal experience with mental illness, family history of mental illness, and knowing or having direct contact with PMI) and knowledge about mental illness by using Mental Health Knowledge Schedule questionnaire were also obtained. ResultsThe mean Community Attitude toward the Mentally Ill questionnaire score was 103.75 ± 9.15, with the highest mean of the four subscales being that of authoritarianism 27.97 ± 2.87 followed by social restrictiveness, community mental health ideology, and benevolence 27.52 ± 3.68, 24.38 ± 3.80, and 23.89 ± 3.27, respectively. The factors significantly associated with nursing students’ attitudes toward mental illness were age (r = −0.18, P = 0.001), year of study (H = 16.65, P < 0.001), knowing or having direct contact with PMI (Z = −2.35, P = 0.019), and knowledge of mental illness (r = −0.22, P < 0.001). ConclusionsSeveral demographic variables, direct contact with PMI, and level of knowledge about mental illness can contribute to variations in attitudes toward PMI among nursing students in Indonesia. Education and direct contact with PMI serve as intervention strategies to reduce negative attitudes and stigma associated with mental illness among nursing students.

Attitudes towards People with Mental Illness among Professionals Working in a Psychiatric Hospital in Rwanda

Aims: This quantitative study investigated the attitudes toward people with mental illness among professionals working in Ndera neuropsychiatric hospital in Rwanda. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in attitudes between direct care providers and supportive professionals towards the people with mental illness. Methods: The Community Attitudes towards Mentally Ill (CAMI) scale (Dear & Taylor, 1982) was used. A total of 72 members of the staff, including 55 directly involved staff members and 17 support staff members, participated in the survey. Results: The mean score is 3.98 for authoritarianism, 3.75 for social restrictiveness, 3.88 for benevolence, and 3.87 for community mental health ideology attitudes subscales. There is no statistically significant difference between the two groups in their overall scale scores. However, directly involved staff members had a greater mean score on many individual items (P≥0.05). Demographic variables did not account for the variance within the two groups (P≥0.05). 87.27% of our respondents think that staff members, patients and family members can be involved in the decision making process and 70.59% appreciate that it is good to involve staff, patients and family relatives in this process. Negative attitudes towards people with mental illness admitted to Ndera neuropsychiatric hospital are also present, even though the majority of our respondents have favorable attitudes towards the people with mental illness. There is the need to explore the influence of staff attitudes on the delivery of high quality healthcare.

Embracing mental illness: do education and contact make any difference in help-seeking intention among Pakistani students?

ABSTRACTThose suffering from mental illness usually fall victim to stigmatization and the resulting discrimination. This study aims at finding out whether students differ in their attitudes based on the courses studied and previous contact with mentally ill. Using purposive sampling technique, 236 students from seven departments of University of Karachi were selected for this study. They were divided into three groups based on their educational background i.e. “psychology group”, “allied group” and “other group”. Community Attitude towards Mental Illness (CAMI) Scale along with a demographics sheet were administered to the participants. Using SPSS version 23, one-way ANOVA was carried out between educational groups and responses of CAMI sub-scales. Results indicated that in comparison to the other two groups, attitudes of psychology students were lower on authoritarianism, social restrictiveness subscales and higher on community mental health ideology subscale. Results are discussed in detail.

Atitudes dos trabalhadores de saúde mental em relação aos pacientes psiquiátricos em uma cidade do interior do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Resumo Introdução Existem poucos estudos acerca da avaliação das atitudes dos trabalhadores em saúde mental em relação aos indivíduos com transtornos mentais no Brasil, principalmente em cidades de médio e pequeno porte. Portanto, foi conduzido um estudo seccional para avaliar as atitudes dos profissionais de saúde mental que trabalham em uma pequena cidade do interior do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Método Foram avaliados 155 trabalhadores em saúde mental do município de Carmo, em novembro de 2015, utilizando a escala Community Attitudes Toward Mentally Ill (CAMI-BR). A CAMI tem quatro subescalas: Autoritarismo, Benevolência, Restrição Social e Ideologia de Saúde Mental Comunitária. Resultados Os trabalhadores, na sua maioria, apresentaram atitudes positivas para com os pacientes psiquiátricos. A subescala que teve pontuação mais alta foi Benevolência, seguida por Ideologia Comunitária, enquanto Restrição Social e Autoritarismo obtiveram as pontuações mais baixas. As variáveis que tiveram associação significativa com as atitudes positivas foram: faixa etária, categoria profissional e nível educacional. As pessoas mais jovens e com mais anos de estudo foram as que mostraram atitudes mais positivas. Os Cuidadores apresentaram atitudes mais negativas quando comparados às outras categorias. Conclusão Embora ainda persistam algumas atitudes autoritárias no cuidado dos pacientes psiquiátricos, os trabalhadores de Carmo têm atitudes positivas relacionadas às pessoas com transtorno mental e sua inclusão na comunidade, o que fortalece a implementação das reformas da assistência psiquiátrica no município.

Correlations between medical students’ specialty choice and different attitudes towards mental illness

IntroductionDiscrimination and stigmatization cause an important burden for people suffering from psychiatric disorders. The medical doctors, those who should be important reference points for psychiatric patients, are instead one of the categories that contribute to their stigmatization.ObjectivesIt is extremely important to study and to know the attitudes of undergraduate medical students towards psychiatric disorders, since these individuals will be involved in the care of these patients throughout their careers.AimsThe present study analyzes the attitudes of a group of Italian medical students towards mental illness, highlighting the differences between the students who would choose surgical specialties from those who prefer medical ones.MethodsA total of 339 medical students of different medical schools, in Rome and Foggia (Italy), completed a cross-sectional survey. The Italian version of community attitude towards the mentally Ill test (CAMI) was used to evaluate the students’ attitudes.ResultsThe students that would choose medical specialties reported less stigmatizing responses in 11 CAMI items (including five items with P &lt; 0.01), in benevolence and community mental health ideology subscales (P = 0.003) and in the total score (P = 0.003).ConclusionsIt is evident that the students that prefer the surgical specialties have more stigmatizing attitudes towards psychiatric patients. Negative feedbacks on Psychiatry from non-psychiatrist colleagues may have a fundamental role in stigmatizing mental disorders.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Breaking barriers: An education and contact intervention to reduce mental illness stigma among Indian college students

This study assessed the effectiveness of an intervention designed to foster more positive attitudes towards persons with mental illness among college students in Delhi. A total of 50 young people participated in a one-time education and contact based intervention. Attitudes towards persons with mental illness were assessed before the intervention, immediately after it and at a one week follow-up. Results indicated increased feelings of benevolence, community mental health ideology and less authoritarianism at the post-intervention assessments. Reduction in endorsement of social restrictiveness was also observed but only in the case of the immediate post-assessment. We also observed a greater recognition of needs, increased positive descriptions, decreased negative descriptions and reduced labelling after the intervention. These results support the efficacy of education and contact-based strategies for reducing mental illness stigma. Implications of the findings for low-middle income countries like India are discussed.

Attitudes toward the mentally ill among community health-related personnel in South Korea.

Background and Aims:Prejudice and negative attitudes toward mental illness are major obstacles in the rehabilitation and functional recovery of patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of health-related personnel toward mentally ill patients in a local urban community in South Korea.Materials and Methods:In total, 401 participants (men, 132; women, 269; mean age, 37.3 ± 9.5 years) were recruited. The participants were health-related personnel in a district of Seoul, who were recruited from three different workplaces: a local administration office, a public health center, and a community welfare center. Sociodemographic data were gathered, and the community attitudes toward the mentally ill (CAMI) inventory were administered. Comparisons of the CAMI subscales were conducted among participants using statistical analysis.Results:Community welfare center workers showed more authoritarianism and social restriction and less community mental health ideology than the other two groups. Among the demographic variables, a shorter working career, higher education, female gender, and younger age were also related to a more negative attitude toward mentally ill patients.Conclusion:Community health-related personnel who have contact with patients with mental illness should be encouraged to have a fair, hospitable, and open-minded attitude. It is advisable for these workers to receive interventions such as regular educational programs early in their careers.

Nurses' attitude towards patients with mental illness in a general hospital in Kuwait

Introduction:Stigma and discrimination have been reported to cause unnecessary delay in mentally-ill patients seeking help, which adversely affects a patient's outcome. The attitude of health care professionals has been described as being, even more, negative than that of the general public, which worsens the prognosis for patients with a mental illness.Aims:The aim of this study was to describe the attitude of nurses toward mentally-ill patients in a general hospital.Methods:All the nurses in the hospital were administered a 40-item Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally-Ill (CAMI) questionnaire which determines whether the mentally-ill are viewed as “inferior;” deserve “sympathy;” perceived as a “threat” to society or “acceptable” if residing in community dwellings. The analysis of variance was performed to determine association of the four subscales with the individual characteristics, including age, gender, education, qualification type, position held, contact and contact type.Results:Out of a total of 990 nurses, 308 (31%) completed the CAMI questionnaire. The mean scores for the authoritarian (2.85), benevolent (3.66), social restrictiveness (2.97) and community mental health ideology (3.48) subscales reflected a negative attitude of nurses toward mentally-ill patients. The direct or indirect utilization of the mental health facilities resulted in significantly higher authoritarian and lower benevolence scores, indicating a positive attitude change in this group of nurses.Conclusion:Despite the small size and selective nature of the sample, the nurses' negative attitude toward the mentally-ill patients provides useful baseline data for further large-scale studies and underscores the need for psychoeducation of different health care professionals, including nurses.

Attitudes Towards the Mentally Ill: A Study with Health Workers at a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro.

As there are few studies about evaluation of attitudes of health care workers to people with mental disorders in Brazil, a cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the health professionals' attitudes working in a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro and also examine the proportion of negative and positive attitudes endorsed by healthcare professionals in Brazil towards people with mental illness in comparison with other parts of the world. Data were collected using the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI) in a random sampling frame of health professionals (n=246) working in a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro between April 2013 and June 2013. The CAMI consists of four sub-scales: Authoritarianism, Benevolence, Social Restrictiveness and Community Mental Health Ideology. The results showed attitudes that range from neutral to positive, with the Benevolence and Social Restrictiveness sub-scales showing the least stigmatizing results. The following individual characteristics were associated with negative attitudes: lower levels of education and less clinical experience. In general, health workers attitudes towards service users are characterized as positive when compared with other international studies. However, educational programs for health workers should be reinforced to further promote pre-existing positive attitudes towards people with mental health and the implementation of Brazilian Mental Health Policies.

Different attitudes toward psychiatry and psychiatric patients in nursing students: Can personal experiences reduce stigma?

BackgroundPsychiatric patients often do not receive the same health treatment reserved for patients with no mental disorders. Stigma in mental-health nurses can worsen the patients’ healing time and quality of care.ObjectiveTo explore the different attitudes towards mental illness and psychiatry in nursing students (NS) of the first and the final year of university, and the importance of having visited a psychiatric ward and having known a psychiatric patient.MethodsFifty NS completed the following tests:– Community attitudes towards mental ill (CAMI);– Attitudes towards psychiatry (ATP-30);– Empathy quotient (EQ).ResultsNS of the final year differ significantly from those of the first year in 4 CAMI items, in Authoritarianism subscale (P = 0.041), Social Restrictiveness (P = 0.029) and Community Mental Health Ideology (P = 0.045), indicating a more mature and responsible approach to psychiatric patients, without considering them a threat to be secluded. EQ does not show a significant difference in empathy, not even considering the individual items. Final year NS also have more positive attitudes toward Psychiatry in 3 ATP-30 items and total score (P = 0.01). Those who visited a psychiatric ward have more positive attitudes towards mental illness and Psychiatry, in 6 CAMI items and 3 ATP-30 items. Having personally known a psychiatric patient leads to positive attitudes in only a few CAMI items.ConclusionsLast-year NS, who have had more direct relationships with patients through practical training, have more empathetic and less stigmatizing attitudes. It is also very useful to attend a psychiatric ward during the nursing training.Normal 0 14 false false false IT X-NONE X-NONE.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Community Attitude and Associated Factors towards People with Mental Illness among Residents of Worabe Town, Silte Zone, Southern Nation's Nationalities and People's Region, Ethiopia.

BackgroundMental illnesses worldwide are accompanied by another pandemic, that of stigma and discrimination. Public understanding about mental illnesses and attitudes towards people with mental illness play a paramount role in the prevention and treatment of mental illness and the rehabilitation of people with mental illness.ObjectiveTo assess community attitude and associated factors towards people with mental illness.MethodsCommunity based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 28 to May 28, 2014. Quantitative data were collected through interview from 435 adults selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected using community attitude towards mentally ill (CAMI) tool to assess community attitude towards people with mental illness and associated factors. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of community attitude towards people with mental illness and the level of significance association was determined by beta with 95% confidence interval and P less than 0.05.ResultsThe highest mean score was on social restrictiveness subscale (31.55±5.62). Farmers had more socially restrictive view (β = 0.291, CI [0.09, 0.49]) and have less humanistic view towards mentally ill (β = 0.193, CI [-0.36, -0.03]). Having mental health information had significantly less socially restrictive (β = -0.59, CI [-1.13, -0.05]) and less authoritarian (β = -0.10, CI [-1.11, -0.06]) view towards mentally ill but respondents who are at university or college level reported to be more socially restrictive (β = 0.298, CI [0.059, 0.54]). Respondents whose age is above 48 years old had significantly less view of community mental health ideology (β = -0.59, CI [-1.09, -0.08]).Conclusion and RecommendationResidents of Worabe town were highly socially restrictive but less authoritarian. There was high level of negative attitude towards people with mental illness along all the subscales with relative variation indicating a need to develop strategies to change negative attitude attached to mental illness in Worabe town at community level.