Open AccessHelp-seeking behaviors in the relatives of mentally Ill persons at a Tertiary Care Hospital
Author(s) -
K. Anusha,
Bogaraju,
Anand Bhatt,
L. V. R. Usha
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
indian journal of social psychiatry (online)/indian journal of social psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2454-8316
pISSN - 0971-9962
DOI - 10.4103/0971-9962.214597
Subject(s) - mental illness , denial , clinical psychology , coping (psychology) , psychology , population , psychiatry , mental health , help seeking , nonprobability sampling , context (archaeology) , medicine , paleontology , environmental health , psychoanalysis , biology
Background: There are few studies in Indian context on factors affecting generalized help-seeking behaviors in the relatives of persons with mental illness. Hence, the present study was undertaken. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, purposive sampling, comparative study. Sociodemographic profile, illness details, treatment, compliance, reactions to mental illness scale, and cope inventory scores were compared between the low and high help-seeking groups on General Help-seeking Questionnaire divided on the lower 25th and upper 75th quartiles, respectively, for the groups. The data were statistically analyzed on SPSS-17. Results: Out of a total of 100 patients, 25 and 28 subjects in the low and high help-seeking groups, respectively, were included in the study. In the low help-seeking group, drug compliance was good and caregivers' education level was higher compared to the high help-seeking group. High help-seeking group was characterized by higher scores of hope and compassion on reactions to mental illness scale and the coping mechanisms of humor, denial, use of instrumental and emotional support, acceptance, and planning were frequently used. Conclusions: There is a need to develop awareness about mental illness in the general population and improve the available social support systems to the patients with mental illness and their family members. The help-seeking behaviors could be improved by training the personnel at primary health centers about the treatment of mental illness and importance of drug compliance and regular follow-up