Public Stigma, Knowledge and Behaviors of the Attendees of Outpatient Clinics towards People with Mental Illness, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Nahla Khamis Ibrahim *
Department of Community Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. and Department of Epidemiology, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Lamis Abdulrahman Wayyani
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ola Ahmed Alhusaini
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Rakan Alotaibi
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Jawaher Al- Ahmadi
Department of Family Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Bahaa Abalkhail
Department of Community Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Mental stigma represents a critical obstacle for delivering mental health care.
Aims: To determine public stigma, knowledge & behaviors of the attendees of outpatient clinics towards People with Mental Illness (PWMI), King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in 2018. A sample of 600 attendees of outpatient clinics of KAUH were included. A standardized interviewing data collection sheet was used. It included three scales namely: the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI), Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) & Reported and Intended Behavior Scale (RIBS). Authoritarian, socially restrictiveness, benevolent & Community Mental Health Ideology of CAMI sub-scales were calculated. Descriptive, inferential, and multiple linear regression analyses were applied.
Results: About two-thirds of the participants agreed that mental illness causes lacking self-discipline & will power. Gender was significantly associated with all CAMI sub-scales (P < 0.01). An increasing level of knowledge about mental illness was associated with lower stigma towards PWMI (P< 0.001). After controlling confounders in regression analyses, gender and knowledge were significant predictors of all CAMI sub-scales. Concerning MAKS, about half of participants incorrectly identified stress & grief as types of mental illness. Regarding RIBS, living with (30.2%), and having a neighbor (28.8%) with mental illness were the commonest reported experiences.
Conclusions: Negative attitudes towards PWMI still prevailed. Mental stigma was higher among males, older people, lower-educators, lower-income & those with poor mental knowledge. Participants had a moderate intention to accept PWMI. Anti-stigma intervention educational programs are required.
Keywords: Mental illness, stigma, knowledge, behaviors, public, CAMI, MAKS, RIBS.