Assessment of Adult Attitude towards Mental Illness among Attendees of Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic at Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia Governorate, Egypt | ||||
| Suez Canal University Medical Journal | ||||
| Article 7, Volume 25, Issue 3, October 2022, Page 77-88 PDF (366.92 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/scumj.2022.260916 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
Eman E. Tosson   ; Hanan A. Abdo; Hebatallah Nour Eldein; Menna S. Atta
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| Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Background: Although mental health care has improved significantly over the last decades, many people still choose not to seek treatment due to stigma. Aim: To improve attitude towards mental illness. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conductedon 215participantsaged >18 years whoattended the Family Medicine outpatient clinic of SCU Hospital, Ismailia, Egyptto assess attitudes towards mental disorders and their association with their socio-demographic characteristics. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographic, socioeconomic status, and attitudes to Mental Illness. Results: Our study included 215 patients with a mean age of 47±13.4 years. About three-quarters of the participants were females (71.6%). It was found that the recruited participants had negative attitudes concerning the fear and exclusion of people with mental illness (19.03 ± 3.86). However, they had a more positive attitude towards causes of mental illness and the need for special services, integration of people with mental illness into the community, and understanding of mental illness (11.14 ± 2.02, 25.02 ± 4.09, 27.38 ± 3.41) respectively. Moreover, gender, crowding index, and socioeconomic status were significantly associated with participants' fear of and exclusion of people with mental illness where P values were (0.033, 0.023, 0.041) respectively. Conclusion: Although theAttitude toward mental illness was variable. The study highlights a huge understanding and tolerance towards mental illness and integrating patients with mental illness into the community. Anti-stigma programs are needed to boost people's acceptance of mental illness and strategies to increase social contact of the public with the mentally-ill should be considered. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| stigma; public; tolerance | ||||
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