Doctors' attitude towards people with mental illness in Western Nigeria.
BACKGROUND
It had been suggested that those more knowledgeable about mental illness are less likely to endorse negative or stigmatizing attitudes. This study aimed to evaluate the attitude of doctors in Nigeria towards the mentally ill.


METHODS
Medical doctors (n = 312) from eight selected health institutions in Nigeria completed various questionnaires on knowledge and attitude towards people with mental illness.


RESULTS
Beliefs in supernatural causes were prevalent. The mentally ill were perceived as dangerous and their prognosis perceived as poor. High social distance was found amongst 64.1% and the associated factors include not having a family member/friend with mental illness (OR 7.12, 95% CI 3.71-13.65), age less than 45 years (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.23-4.40), less than 10 years of clinical experience (OR 6.75, 95% CI 3.86-11.82) and female sex (OR 4.98, 95% CI 2.70-9.18).


CONCLUSIONS
Culturally enshrined beliefs about mental illness were prevalent among Nigerian doctors. A review of medical curriculum is needed and the present anti-stigma campaigns should start from the doctors.
Adewuya
Abiodun O
AO
Dept. of Psychiatry, Lagos State University, College of Medicine, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, biodunwuya@yahoo.com.
Oguntade
Ayotunde A
AA
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology*; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D015984:Causality; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D011287:Prejudice; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012945:Social Values; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018599:Witchcraft