Awareness on Mental Illness Among Secondary School Students in Dodoma Municipality.
Rusibamayila, Matilda CUHAS/MD/4000195/T/07
Awareness on Mental Illness Among Secondary School Students in Dodoma Municipality. - Mwanza, Tanzania: Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences [CUHAS - Bugando] : ©16.03.2012 - vii; 32 Pages Includes References and Appendices
Abstract:
Background: Community attitudes influence help seeking behavior of mental health suffers. Ignorance about advances in the diagnosis and management of mental illness, the availability of effective treatment and fear of stigmatization may prevent people with mental disorders from seeking professional help. Hence assessing awareness of mental illness in secondary school students was an initial step towards understanding the community perception on mental diseases.
Objective: To assess awareness of mental in secondary school students at Dodoma municipality.
Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive analytical study was done where by a total of 250 students were involved from 4 different secondary schools in Dodoma municipality selected multistage sampling. A structured questionnaire including questions on knowledge on risk factors for causing mental illness, preferences of health care services and their attitude towards a person with mental illness was used. SPSS computer program was used for analysis of the results.
Results: 250 students were recruited in the study. 37.6% aged between 11-15 years, 52% aged between 16-18 years while 10.4% aged from 19 years and above. Male to female ratio was 1:1.3 about the causes of mental illness 97% knew that abuse of substances such as alcohol, canabies and heroin can cause mental illness. While 60.4%, 57.6%, 43.2%, 28.0%, 13.2% chose medical conditions such as epilepsy and downs syndrome, social economic stress like poverty and adverse life events, socery, curse and witchcraft, heredity and God as a cause of mental illness respectively. 76.0% said that mentally ill people normally do not have many friends, 60% said that they would be worried if they lived next-door to someone with mental illness. 61.2% said that the community around them would take a mentally ill person somewhere else to be treated instead of either leaving them around to room in the streets, separate them from others or just keeping them indoors. Many of respondents (91%) preferred hospital as a place for treatment more than faith healers and traditional healers, while none preferred leaving a patient at home.
Conclusion: The society should be educated on the causes and the possibility of getting treatment for a mentally ill personnel since some of the mental disease can be cured completely if the patients are kept under the wings of the proper health personnel with required facilities.
Phone: +255 28 298 3384 Fax: +255 28 298 3386 Email: vc@bugando.ac.tz Website: www.bugando.ac.tz
--Psychiatry
Awareness on Mental Illness Among Secondary School Students in Dodoma Municipality. - Mwanza, Tanzania: Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences [CUHAS - Bugando] : ©16.03.2012 - vii; 32 Pages Includes References and Appendices
Abstract:
Background: Community attitudes influence help seeking behavior of mental health suffers. Ignorance about advances in the diagnosis and management of mental illness, the availability of effective treatment and fear of stigmatization may prevent people with mental disorders from seeking professional help. Hence assessing awareness of mental illness in secondary school students was an initial step towards understanding the community perception on mental diseases.
Objective: To assess awareness of mental in secondary school students at Dodoma municipality.
Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive analytical study was done where by a total of 250 students were involved from 4 different secondary schools in Dodoma municipality selected multistage sampling. A structured questionnaire including questions on knowledge on risk factors for causing mental illness, preferences of health care services and their attitude towards a person with mental illness was used. SPSS computer program was used for analysis of the results.
Results: 250 students were recruited in the study. 37.6% aged between 11-15 years, 52% aged between 16-18 years while 10.4% aged from 19 years and above. Male to female ratio was 1:1.3 about the causes of mental illness 97% knew that abuse of substances such as alcohol, canabies and heroin can cause mental illness. While 60.4%, 57.6%, 43.2%, 28.0%, 13.2% chose medical conditions such as epilepsy and downs syndrome, social economic stress like poverty and adverse life events, socery, curse and witchcraft, heredity and God as a cause of mental illness respectively. 76.0% said that mentally ill people normally do not have many friends, 60% said that they would be worried if they lived next-door to someone with mental illness. 61.2% said that the community around them would take a mentally ill person somewhere else to be treated instead of either leaving them around to room in the streets, separate them from others or just keeping them indoors. Many of respondents (91%) preferred hospital as a place for treatment more than faith healers and traditional healers, while none preferred leaving a patient at home.
Conclusion: The society should be educated on the causes and the possibility of getting treatment for a mentally ill personnel since some of the mental disease can be cured completely if the patients are kept under the wings of the proper health personnel with required facilities.
Phone: +255 28 298 3384 Fax: +255 28 298 3386 Email: vc@bugando.ac.tz Website: www.bugando.ac.tz
--Psychiatry