KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND MENTAL ILLNESS AMONG HEALTH WORKERS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FACILITIES IN RIVERS STATE

Background: Treatment gaps continue to be reported within sub-Saharan Africa, and this has been associated with wrong mental health (MH) beliefs, poor knowledge of MH disorders, stigma towards mentally ill persons even among healthcare workers, as well as weak healthcare delivery systems. This study was thus conducted to determine the knowledge and attitude of Primary Health Care (PHC) workers towards mental healthcare services (MHS) and mental illness in Rivers State, Nigeria. Methodology: This study utilized a descriptive design, and a multi-stage sampling technique. It was conducted among 415 Primary Health Care workers (PHCWs) in Rivers State, Nigeria. It was conducted at selected Model Primary Health Care (MPHC) facilities located in the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Rivers State, Nigeria. Responses were elicited from willing respondents using a self-administered adapted questionnaire. Assessment of the respondents’ knowledge and attitude towards MHS and mental illness was done using a set of fourteen and sixteen questions respectively. Responses were then collated and analyzed on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, were expressed as frequencies/percentages, mean ± standard deviation, and presented on charts. Results: This study identified that most of the PHC workers good knowledge 412 (99.3%) of mental health services but manifested more stigmatizing attitude 365 (88.0%) towards the provision of MHS and mental illness. No factor was however identified to be significantly associated with their knowledge and attitude towards MHS. Conclusion: In this study, most of the PHCWs had good knowledge of mental health services but manifested more stigmatizing attitude towards the provision of MHS and the mentally-ill. It was recommended that health care stakeholders in Rivers State develop and implement policies and training programs targeting the development of mental healthcare capacity among PHCWs in Rivers State.