PERCEPTIONS PERTAINING TO STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION ABOUT DEPRESSION: A FOCUS GROUP STUDY OF PRIMARY CARE STAFF

"The present study was conducted to explore the perception and views of primary care staff about Depression related Stigma and Discrimination. The Basic Qualitative Research Design was employed and an In-Depth Semi-Structured Discussion Guide consisted of 7 question was developed on the domains of Pryor and Reeder Model of Stigma and Discrimination such as Self-Stigma, Stigma by Association, Structural Stigma and Institutional Stigma, to investigate the phenomenon. Initially, Field Test and Pilot study were conducted to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of Focus Group Discussion Guide in relation to phenomena under investigation. The suggestions were incorporated in the final Discussion Guide and Focus Group was employed as a data collection measure for the conduction of the main study. A purposive sampling was employed to selected a sample of Primary Care Staff (Psychiatrists, Medical Officers, Clinical Psychologists and Psychiatric Nurses) to elicit the meaningful information. The participants were recruited from the Department of Psychiatry of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) recognized Private and Public Sector hospitals of Lahore, having experience of 3 years or more in dealing with patients diagnosed with Depression. However, for Medical Officers, the experience was restricted to less than one year based on their rotation. To maintain equal voices in the Focus Group, 12 participants were approached (3 Psychiatrist, 3 Clinical Psychologists, 3 Medical Officers and 3 Psychiatric Nurses) but total 8 participants (2 Psychiatrists, 2 Medical Officers, 3 Clinical Psychologists And 1 Psychiatric Nurse) participated in the Focus Group. The Focus Group was conducted with the help of Assistant Moderator, for an approximate duration of 90 minutes at the setting according to the ease of the participants. Further, it was audio recorded and transcribed for the analysis. The Braun and Clarke Reflexive Thematic Analysis was diligently followed through a series of six steps such as Familiarization with the Data, Coding, Generating Initial Themes, Reviewing Themes, Defining and Naming Themes. The findings highlighted two main themes i.e., Determining Factors of Mental Health Disparity and Improving Treatment Regimen: Making Consultancy Meaningful. The first theme was centered upon three subthemes such as Lack of Mental Health Literacy, Detached Attachment and Components of Stigma and Discrimination. The second theme included Establishing Contact and Providing Psychoeducation as a subtheme. The results manifested the need for awareness-based Stigma reduction intervention for Primary Care Staff aims to provide training in Psychoeducation and normalization to reduce Depression related Stigma and Discrimination among patients diagnosed with Depression."