Community-Based Mental Health Care: Stigma and Coping Strategies Among Professionals and Family Caregivers in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Abstract

To a large extent caregivers perceive stigma through their social and community interactions by virtue of their association with persons with mental health problems. Meanwhile, evidence on their strategies for coping with potentially undesirable experiences linked with stigma is limited. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the present study explored affiliate stigma among mental health professionals and family caregivers of persons with mental illness. Data, collected through one-on-one interviews with 10 mental health professionals and 10 family caregivers, were examined with content analysis. Findings revealed that, although stigma attached to mental illness was largely directed at sufferers and family caregivers, professionals sometimes had their fair share. To manage the negative impact of stigma, caregivers adopted various strategies including the use of realisation, tactical or planned ignoring, self-motivation, acceptance and religion. Implications of the findings necessitate the intensification of mental health education among the general populace, which must be targeted at demystifying mental illness.