A study investigating mental health literacy in Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Research on public mental health beliefs has shown marked discrepancies across countries. Aims: This study was conducted to assess pubic mental health beliefs in Pakistan. Method: In a large-scale survey, conducted in three cities of Punjab along with their neighbouring suburbs, a total of 1750 people from all walks of life were read a vignette describing symptoms of either psychosis or major depression. Survey participants were requested to provide diagnosis, causes, prognosis, and possible treatments for the disorders. Results: The findings showed that depression was four times more likely to be diagnosed than psychosis (18.75% vs. 4.94%). A logistic regression analysis with forward selection for the predictors showed that the type of disorder, education status and area of residence contributed significantly to one's ability to diagnose. More people believed that GPs (23.76%), psychologists (23.92%) and psychiatrists (20.73%) were the right people to consult for these problems. There were also some who considered hakims and homeopaths (4.22%), magical (13.11%) and religious healers (13.54%) as the appropriate people to contact. Those recognizing mental disorders were more likely to identify the underlying causes, prognosis and appropriate treatment of the problems. Conclusions: The current findings suggest a need to initiate large mental health movements in Pakistan to increase the mental health awareness of people, especially targeting uneducated and rural populations.