Public Attitude towards Mental Illness and Mental Health Services in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Stigma associated with mental illness prevents many mentally ill people and their caregivers from seeking help and receiving adequate treatment. People may refuse to seek help from mental health professionals for fear of social reaction and may try to hide the illness, which lead to inaccurate statistical presentation of the real problem in addition to poor health outcomes. Aim: The aim of the current research study was to investigate the attitude of general Saudi population toward mental illness and persons with mental illnesses and explore general Saudi population’ attitude toward mental health services available in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A descriptive corelation cross sectional research design was utilized on a sample of 3464 saudi adults recruited from different public areas and voluntarily accept to participate in the study. Data was collected using a survey questionnair consisted of sociodemographic data sheet, questions concerning personal experience with persons with mental illnesses, Attitudes towards mental Illness Scale (Shokeer, 2002) and attitude towards the mental health services questionnair. An explanation about the purpose and the nature of the study was offered for each individual potential participant. Subjects were assured about the confidentiality of the collected data and that it will be only used by the researcher for the purpose of the current study. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Results: More than one third of the participants (36.9%) had a family member diagnosed with mental illness while around two thirds (62.2%) knew any person diagnosed with mental illness other than a family member. 36.5 percent of the participants agreed that they can speak with any person with mental illness and can go in a picnic with people with mental illnesses, 43.5% don’t feel afraid when dealing with persons with mental illnesses, 41.4% don’t refuse to sit with a person with mental illness. More than three quarters of the participants agreed that Saudi government must increase governmental fund spent on mental health hospitals as well as community mental health services, on the other hand only 18.7% agreed that Saudi community has enough mental health services. age of the participants, level of education, having a family member diagnosed with mental illness and knowing any person diagnosed with mental illness were  significantly correlated with the attitude towards mental illness and persons with mental illnesses scale score (p = 0.000). Conclusion: Despite the limited empirical evidence the present study infers that one third of the participants have an indecisive attitude toward mental illness and persons with mental illness. This makes it clear that there is still a way to go in accomplishing a positive attitude toward mental illness.

Keywords: Public, attitude, mental illness, mental health services, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia