IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v64y2018i1p49-55.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reactions to symptoms of mental disorder and help seeking in Sabah, Malaysia

Author

Listed:
  • Wendy Diana Shoesmith
  • Awang Faisal Bin Awang Borhanuddin
  • Pauline Yong Pau Lin
  • Ahmad Faris Abdullah
  • Norhayati Nordin
  • Beena Giridharan
  • Dawn Forman
  • Sue Fyfe

Abstract

Background: A better understanding is needed about how people make decisions about help seeking. Materials: Focus group and individual interviews with patients, carers, healthcare staff, religious authorities, traditional healers and community members. Discussion: Four stages of help seeking were identified: (1) noticing symptoms and initial labelling, (2) collective decision-making, (3) spiritual diagnoses and treatment and (4) psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. Conclusion: Spiritual diagnoses have the advantage of being less stigmatising, giving meaning to symptoms, and were seen to offer hope of cure rather than just symptom control. Patients and carers need help to integrate different explanatory models into a meaningful whole.

Suggested Citation

  • Wendy Diana Shoesmith & Awang Faisal Bin Awang Borhanuddin & Pauline Yong Pau Lin & Ahmad Faris Abdullah & Norhayati Nordin & Beena Giridharan & Dawn Forman & Sue Fyfe, 2018. "Reactions to symptoms of mental disorder and help seeking in Sabah, Malaysia," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 64(1), pages 49-55, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:64:y:2018:i:1:p:49-55
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764017739643
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764017739643
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0020764017739643?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kenneth Fung & Yuk-Lin Renita Wong, 2007. "Factors Influencing Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Help Among East and Southeast Asian Immigrant and Refugee Women," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 53(3), pages 216-231, May.
    2. S.M. Razali & M.A.M. Najib, 2000. "Help-Seeking Pathways Among Malay Psychiatric Patients," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 46(4), pages 281-289, December.
    3. Patel, Vikram, 1995. "Explanatory models of mental illness in sub-Saharan Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1291-1298, 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. Irene Chung, 2010. "Changes in the Sociocultural Reality of Chinese Immigrants: Challenges and Opportunities in Help-Seeking Behaviour," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 56(4), pages 436-447, July.
    2. Mohd Izzuddin Hairol & Sha’ari Ahmad & Sharanjeet Sharanjeet-Kaur & Lei Hum Wee & Fauziah Abdullah & Mahadir Ahmad, 2021. "Incidence and predictors of postpartum depression among postpartum mothers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A cross-sectional study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-12, November.
    3. Syed Masud Ahmed & Shamim Hossain & Md. Kamruzzaman, 2010. "Exploring Explanatory Model of Malaria in Hill Tracts of Bangladesh: Perspective from Dighinala Upazila," Working Papers id:2709, eSocialSciences.
    4. Kim van Zoonen & Annet Kleiboer & Pim Cuijpers & Jan Smit & Brenda Penninx & Peter Verhaak & Aartjan Beekman, 2016. "Determinants of attitudes towards professional mental health care, informal help and self-reliance in people with subclinical depression," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 62(1), pages 84-93, February.
    5. Tarek Assad & Tarek Okasha & Hisham Ramy & Tamer Goueli & Hanan El-Shinnawy & Mohamed Nasr & Heba Fathy & Dalia Enaba & Dina Ibrahim & Mahmoud Elhabiby & Nesreen Mohsen & Sherien Khalil & Mohamed Fekr, 2015. "Role of traditional healers in the pathway to care of patients with bipolar disorder in Egypt," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 61(6), pages 583-590, September.
    6. Mayston, Rosie & Frissa, Souci & Tekola, Bethlehem & Hanlon, Charlotte & Prince, Martin & Fekadu, Abebaw, 2020. "Explanatory models of depression in sub-Saharan Africa: Synthesis of qualitative evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    7. Picholas Kian Ann Phoa & Asrenee Ab Razak & Hue San Kuay & Anis Kausar Ghazali & Azriani Ab Rahman & Maruzairi Husain & Raishan Shafini Bakar & Firdaus Abdul Gani, 2023. "Predictors of Mental Health Literacy among Parents, Guardians, and Teachers of Adolescents in West Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-13, January.
    8. Tarek Okasha & Nivert Zaki & Marwa Abd El Meguid & Marwa El-Missiry & Walaa Sabry & Mostafa Kamel Ismaeil & Samar M Fouad, 2016. "Duration of untreated psychosis in an Egyptian sample: Sociodemographic and clinical variables," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 62(7), pages 661-671, November.
    9. Shaden Adel & Karim Abdel Aziz & Dina El Tabei & Noha Adel Mahfouz & Dina Aly El-Gabry, 2023. "Patterns and factors associated with consulting traditional healers on the care pathway of psychiatric patients in the United Arab Emirates," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(5), pages 1202-1212, August.
    10. Mathew Mathews, 2011. "Assessment and Comparison of Culturally Based Explanations for Mental Disorder Among Singaporean Chinese Youth," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 57(1), pages 3-17, January.
    11. Tekola, Bethlehem & Kinfe, Mersha & Girma, Fikirte & Hanlon, Charlotte & Hoekstra, Rosa A., 2020. "Perceptions and experiences of stigma among parents of children with developmental disorders in Ethiopia: A qualitative study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    12. Harris K Chilale & Ndumanene Devlin Silungwe & Saulos Gondwe & Charles Masulani-Mwale, 2017. "Clients and carers perception of mental illness and factors that influence help-seeking: Where they go first and why," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 63(5), pages 418-425, August.
    13. Michael Galvin & William Byansi & Lesley Chiwaye & Zoleka Luvuno & Aneesa Moolla, 2023. "Pathways to care among patients with mental illness at two psychiatric facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(8), pages 2059-2067, December.
    14. Nandini D. P. Sarkar & Azucena Bardaji & Koen Peeters Grietens & Joske Bunders-Aelen & Florence Baingana & Bart Criel, 2018. "The Social Nature of Perceived Illness Representations of Perinatal Depression in Rural Uganda," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, June.
    15. Jeroen W. Knipscheer & Rolf J. Kleber, 2005. "Help-Seeking Behaviour Regarding Mental Health Problems of Mediterranean Migrants in the Netherlands: Familiarity with Care, Consultation Attitude and Use of Services," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 51(4), pages 372-382, December.
    16. Anakwenze, Obianujunwa, 2022. "The cultural sensitivity continuum of mental health interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    17. Kokanovic, Renata & Dowrick, Christopher & Butler, Ella & Herrman, Helen & Gunn, Jane, 2008. "Lay accounts of depression amongst Anglo-Australian residents and East African refugees," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 454-466, January.
    18. Anitha Jeyagurunathan & Edimansyah Abdin & Saleha Shafie & Peizhi Wang & Sherilyn Chang & Hui Lin Ong & Restria Fauziana Abdul Rahman & Vathsala Sagayadevan & Ellaisha Samari & Yi Chian Chua & Janhavi, 2018. "Pathways to care among psychiatric outpatients in a tertiary mental health institution in Singapore," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 64(6), pages 554-562, September.
    19. Alean Al-Krenawi & John R. Graham & Yasmin Z. Dean & Nada Eltaiba, 2004. "Cross-National Study of Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Help: Jordan, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Arabs in Israel," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 50(2), pages 102-114, June.
    20. Usha George & Mary S. Thomson & Ferzana Chaze & Sepali Guruge, 2015. "Immigrant Mental Health, A Public Health Issue: Looking Back and Moving Forward," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-25, October.

    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:sae:socpsy:v:64:y:2018:i:1:p:49-55. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.