Stakeholder's perceptions of help-seeking behaviour among people with mental health problems in Uganda

To examine the help-seeking behaviours of individuals with mental health problems, and the factors that may influence such behaviours in Uganda.Sixty-two interviews and six focus groups were conducted with stakeholders drawn from national and district levels. Thematic analysis of the data was conducted using a framework analysis approach.The findings revealed that in some Ugandan communities, help is mostly sought from traditional healers initially, whereas western form of care is usually considered as a last resort. The factors found to influence help-seeking behaviour within the community include: beliefs about the causes of mental illness, the nature of service delivery, accessibility and cost, stigma.Increasing the uptake of mental health services requires dedicating more human and financial resources to conventional mental health services. Better understanding of socio-cultural factors that may influence accessibility, engagement and collaboration with traditional healers and conventional practitioners is also urgently required.People suffering from mental health problems very often delay seeking professional help, or avoid it altogether, which in turn significantly compromises appropriate care and treatment [1]. Factors like fear of being diagnosed as suffering from mental illness, distrust towards the system, and lack of confidence in health professionals have been documented to make people hesitant to seek professional help [2]. Seeking help also appears to be related to the individual's perception of the severity of the illness, with individuals who percieve the illness to be severe feeling more compelled to seek help [3]. Furthermore, the choice of where to seek help is said to depend on the what is believed to be the causal factor of the illness [1]. Because mental illness is believed to be due super natural causes, a significant number of people with mental health problems tend to initially seek and to continue seeking traditional healers' services after