Osayi Igberase and Esther Okogbenin
Schizophrenia is a devastating illness with a chronic and relapsing course. While Western countries may endorse, biological and psychosocial causes more commonly than supernatural…
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a devastating illness with a chronic and relapsing course. While Western countries may endorse, biological and psychosocial causes more commonly than supernatural causes, non-western cultures like Nigeria in contrast, tend to endorse supernatural causes. Belief in supernatural causes has been reported to have consequences for treatment seeking behavior. This study aimed to examine the causes of schizophrenia reported by family members of outpatients with schizophrenia in a neuropsychiatric hospital in Midwestern Nigeria. In this study, we recruited a convenient sample of 200 consecutive caregivers of patients visiting the outpatient department of the Psychiatric Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. These primary caregivers were unpaid relatives who provided support to patients. The patients were service users who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Disease [ICD-10; World Health Organization 1993] for schizophrenia and had been on treatment for at least two years. Majority (72.0%) of caregivers endorsed supernatural causes as most important in the etiology of schizophrenia, while 28.0% endorsed natural causes. Every participant without formal education endorsed supernatural attribution. In our study, it was evident that participants embraced multiple causal attributions for schizophrenia.
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Bawo Onesirosan James, Joyce Ohiole Omoaregba and Esther Osemudiamen Okogbenin
Stigmatising attitudes towards persons with mental illness are commonly reported among health professionals. Familiarity with mental illness has been reported to improve these…
Abstract
Stigmatising attitudes towards persons with mental illness are commonly reported among health professionals. Familiarity with mental illness has been reported to improve these attitudes. Very few studies have compared future medical doctors' attitudes toward types of mental illness, substance use disorders and physical illness. A cross-sectional survey of 5th and 6th year medical students as well as recently graduated medical doctors was conducted in April 2011. The 12-item level of contact report and the Attitude towards Mental Illness Questionnaire were administered. Partici -pants endorsed stigmatising attitudes towards mental illness; with attitudes more adverse for schizophrenia compared to depression. Stigmatising attitudes were similarly endorsed for substance use disorders. Paradoxically, attitudes towards HIV/AIDS were positive and similar to diabetes mellitus. Increasing familiarity with mental illness was weakly associated with better attitudes towards depression and schizophrenia. Stigmatising attitudes towards depression and schizophrenia are common among future doctors. Efforts to combat stigma are urgently needed and should be promoted among medical students and recent medical graduates.