IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i11p2423-d179562.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Community Knowledge, Perceived Beliefs and Associated Factors of Mental Distress: A Case Study from Northern Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Aradom Gebrekidan Abbay

    (Department of Cooperative Studies, Mekelle University, 231 Mekelle, Ethiopia)

  • Alemayehu Tibebe Mulatu

    (Tigrai Regional Health Bureau, Seqota Declaration, Regional Program Delivery Unit, 7 Mekelle, Ethiopia)

  • Hossein Azadi

    (Research Group Climate Change and Security, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
    Department of Geography, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

Abstract

Background : All of society is affected by mental health problems, not just a minor, isolated part. Mental health problems represent a major challenge to the global development of community health. This study examined the community health knowledge, perceived beliefs, and associated factors of mental distress (MD) in Mekelle city in Northern Ethiopia. Methods : The current study used a cross-sectional approach calculating a sample of 260 adults living in the two sub-cities of Mekelle city. To select the sample households in each sub-city, systematic random sampling was used. Self-reported questionnaire (SRQ-20 with a cutoff point of 7), and Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) instruments were included within the structured questionnaire tool to clarify community occurrence and the level of health mental knowledge. Results : The likelihood of having MD was higher among the study participants who were female, employed, self-employed, and daily alcohol and khat users. The results also showed that the level of mental health knowledge among the participants was low. Conclusions : Factors such as being male, having a higher level of education, and having strong levels of social support were found to be the independent predictors of good mental health and community mental health knowledge.

Suggested Citation

  • Aradom Gebrekidan Abbay & Alemayehu Tibebe Mulatu & Hossein Azadi, 2018. "Community Knowledge, Perceived Beliefs and Associated Factors of Mental Distress: A Case Study from Northern Ethiopia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:11:p:2423-:d:179562
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/11/2423/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/11/2423/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rachel Jenkins & Frank Njenga & Marx Okonji & Pius Kigamwa & Makheti Baraza & James Ayuyo & Nicola Singleton & Sally McManus & David Kiima, 2012. "Prevalence of Common Mental Disorders in a Rural District of Kenya, and Socio-Demographic Risk Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-10, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rachel Jenkins & Caleb Othieno & Linnet Ongeri & Bernards Ogutu & Peter Sifuna & James Kingora & David Kiima & Michael Ongecha & Raymond Omollo, 2015. "Adult Psychotic Symptoms, Their Associated Risk Factors and Changes in Prevalence in Men and Women Over a Decade in a Poor Rural District of Kenya," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Rachel Jenkins & Caleb Othieno & Raymond Omollo & Linnet Ongeri & Peter Sifuna & James Kingora Mboroki & David Kiima & Bernhards Ogutu, 2015. "Probable Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Kenya and Its Associated Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Household Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Elijah Macharia Ndung’u (PhD), 2021. "Trauma of Poverty and its Psychological Impact: A Case of Kenya," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(09), pages 906-915, September.
    4. Marta Regina Cezar-Vaz & Clarice Alves Bonow & Mara Regina Santos Da Silva, 2015. "Mental and Physical Symptoms of Female Rural Workers: Relation between Household and Rural Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-13, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:11:p:2423-:d:179562. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.