Community attitudes towards mental illness

Abstract

This article reviews the literature on the community attitudes and suggestions are made for future research and lessons to be learnt from the experience in Zambia. Stigma, discrimination and social exclusion have been identified as important obstacles to the integration of people with mental illness in the community. The aim of this article was to determine the gender difference in attitudes towards mental illness in a sample of Chifubu District of Ndola Town residing in Zambia. The sample consisted of 344 residents of Chifubu District who were interviewed face-to-face about the attitudes towards mental illness. In conclusion the study reveals that women have a negative attitude towards mental illness than most men. The majority of women were afraid and not willing to work, live or keep relationships with people with mental illness. However more needs to be done to provide evidence based interventions to improve attitudes towards mental illness.