title: Attitudes, knowledge and preferences of the Israeli public regarding mental health services.
abstract: We examined the public's preferences regarding the site of provision of mental health care and the basis for those preferences. A representative sample of the adult Israeli population (N = 1,583) was interviewed by telephone about their knowledge and attitudes. Self-referral to mental health professionals and primary medical doctors for milder disorders was low. Psychiatric clinics were preferred by 46% of the public; 35% preferred the general clinics, and the remaining 19% were indifferent. Quality of care was noted by 78% of respondents for their preference for psychiatric clinics. General hospitals were preferred for psychiatric inpatient care by 51% of the respondents compared to 23% who opted for psychiatric hospitals. Despite reasonable familiarity with mental health care, one-third of the respondents did not know whether there was a clinic in their neighborhood. Implications for action are discussed in light of the transfer of responsibility for psychiatric care from the Ministry of Health to the health maintenance organizations
authors.affiliation: Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Jerusalem, Israel. NaomiS@jdc.org.il
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Struch
authors.forename: Yechiel
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shereshevsky
authors.forename: Alona
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baidani-Auerbach
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lachman
authors.forename: Noga
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sagiv
authors.forename: Tali
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zehavi
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Levav
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003071:Cognition; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult