Beliefs and community responses to mental illness in Ghana: the experiences of family carers.

Journal: The International journal of social psychiatry

Volume: 53

Issue: 2

Year of Publication: 2007

Affiliated Institutions:  Glasgow School of Social Work, a Joint School of the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, Jordanhill Campus, Scotland. neil.quinn@strath.ac.uk

Abstract summary 

There is often a lack of agreement on how to understand mental illness in low-income countries and support those experiencing it. This article explores the debate on beliefs and the implications for how society responds.Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 80 family carers across four sites in Ghana to explore the themes of beliefs, attitudes, carer burden and support.There appears to be greater reliance on culturally specific explanations of mental illness in rural areas, combined with more acceptance and support, particularly in one rural area with strong traditional belief systems. This suggests the need to develop integrated mental health services, which reflect these differing beliefs.

Authors & Co-authors:  Quinn Neil N

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations : 
Authors :  1
Identifiers
Doi : 
SSN : 0020-7640
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Adult
Other Terms
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
Ghana
Publication Country
England