Suggested avenues to reduce the stigma of mental illness in the Middle East

Ahmed M Sewilam; Annie M M Watson; Ahmed M Kassem; Sue Clifton; Margaret C McDonald; Rebecca Lipski; Smita Deshpande; Hader Mansour; Vishwajit L Nimgaonkar

doi:10.1177/0020764014537234

Suggested avenues to reduce the stigma of mental illness in the Middle East

Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2015 Mar;61(2):111-20. doi: 10.1177/0020764014537234. Epub 2014 Jun 23.

Authors

Ahmed M Sewilam¹, Annie M M Watson², Ahmed M Kassem³, Sue Clifton², Margaret C McDonald³, Rebecca Lipski², Smita Deshpande⁴, Hader Mansour², Vishwajit L Nimgaonkar⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
² Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, PGIMER-Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, India.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA nimga@pitt.edu.

Abstract

Background: Stigma toward mentally ill individuals acts as a barrier to accessing care and receiving treatment.

Aim: To review current evidence pertaining to stigma toward mental illness in the Middle East in order to inform effective and sustainable interventions in this region.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search using the PubMed database and evaluated all identified studies according to specific inclusion criteria.

Results: Stigma toward individuals with mental illness does exist in the Middle East. Stigmatizing attitudes are particularly high toward culturally proscribed mental illnesses like alcohol abuse and lower for other disorders such as depression and psychosis.

Conclusions: We propose the following initiatives to reduce stigma toward mental illness in the Middle East: (a) educate families to enable them to support their affected relatives, (b) increase cooperation between psychiatrists and faith healers and (c) educate young people in schools to increase their awareness and understanding of mental illnesses and to combat negative stereotypes.

Keywords: Middle East; Stigma; education; interventions; mental illness.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Mental Disorders / ethnology*
Mental Disorders / therapy*
Mental Health Services
Middle East
Social Stigma*
Stereotyping

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding