Mental health disorders refer to a range of mental conditions or disorders that affect an individual’s behavior, thinking, or mood. Some examples of mental disorders that are commonly placed in society include addictive behavior, depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders, among others. It should be noted that individuals may suffer from the forenamed mental concerns from time to time or at a particular point in their lives without necessarily being sissified as having a mental disorder (World Health Organization, 2019). However, in cases where the ongoing symptoms and signs of the forenamed mental conditions are shown to have an effect on an individual’s ability to function normally or when those symptoms result in frequent stress, then such an individual is said to have a mental illness (World Health Organization, 2019).
At present, mental disorders are a significant concern, judging by their high prevalence rates. According to the latest statistics, approximately 970 million individuals globally have mental conditions or from the condition associated with substance abuse (Ritchie & Roser, 2018). Out of this number, the highest proportion suffers from anxiety disorders, which are estimated to affect approximately 4% of the worlds’ population (Ritchie & Roser, 2018). One region of the world in which mental health illness has been a cause of concern is the Caribbean region. Jamaicans, one of the region's countries in which the number of mental health conditions has been on the rise in the recent past (Lacey et al., 2016).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
According to a recent study, at present, at least three to four out of every 10 Jamaicans have some psychiatric or mental disorder. This report further states that with the current trends, the number of Jamaicans suffering from mental health conditions may double or even triple in the next ten to fifteen years if necessary interventions are not put in place (Thompson, 2017).
However, it is essential to note that the majority of Jamaicans suffering from mental health illnesses fail to seek medical treatment as a result of various factors. Access to medical facilities and deficiency in educational material and information on mental illness are some of the factors that can be attributed to the few numbers of Jamaica with mental health disorders seeking medical attention. However, the stigma associated with this, the condition is another causative factor for the low numbers of people with a mental health condition in Jamaica seeking conventional treatment regimens for their conditions (Ahmedani, 2011).
Primarily, individuals suffering from mental health conditions usually face a myriad of challenges in society. Stigma and discrimination are some of the most significant challenges faced by mental illness patient and which hurt the overall patient outcomes as well as on their ability to fit in society or even seek treatment for their conditions. Primarily, as a result of stigma and discrimination, mental health patients usually experience social isolation. Consequently, they are often left out of essential aspects in societies, which further exacerbate their conditions trapping them further in the cycle of illness (Ahmedani, 2011).
The relevance of the Topic and Research Questions for this Study
Appreciating the effects of stigma and discrimination among mental health patients and the impact that it has on the ability and willingness of these patients to seek for medical treatment, my study is focused on evaluating the role played by family members and other individuals who provide the requisite support systems for mental health patients. The questions of focus for this study are:
What stories do Jamaicans tell about their relatives who may have mental health problems?
What was their experience with receiving treatment?
The choice of the forenamed research questions was informed by the critical role that family members and relative close to mental health patients play in ensuring that positive and favorable outcomes are realized for the patients. However, as the first line of contact between the mental health patients and the outside world, the perceptions on mental health illnesses held by these individuals form an essential basis in determining the levels of stigma or discrimination faced by mental health patients. Additionally, by being on the frontline, these individuals also play an indispensable role in ensuring that mental health patients access medical treatment as well as in ensuring that these parents follow prescribed treatment regimes.
However, as individuals with frequent contact with mental health patients, family members and close relatives may also exacerbate the levels of stigma faced by mental health. Primarily, negative stories narrated by members of the family against the behavior, causative factor, and the overall wellbeing of the mental health patients may be exacerbating the levels of discrimination faced by the patients (Maulik et al., 2009). For instance, among many communities in the Caribbean region of Jamaica inclusive, it is a commonly held perception that mental health conditions are associated with spiritual desecration.
The propagation of stories relating to a family member’s mental illness with spiritual desecration heightens the level of stigma experienced by the patient as well as the levels of discrimination that members of the society will accord the patient with. Most importantly, the high levels of stigma, in this case, are associated with the authoritative nature of the knowledge of the causative factor of a patient’s mental condition that is placed on close relatives of individuals with mental health conditions.
Additionally, the importance of the research questions in this study also emanates from the fact that the stories narrated by relatives of individuals suffering from mental illnesses may provide an avenue through which the levels of stigma and discrimination may be minimized. In practice, positive stories were given by relatives of mental illness patients usually point at their appreciation of the condition faced by their relatives, in turn, precipitating to reduced levels of discrimination faced by mental health patients in society (Koschorke et al., 2017). Most importantly, positive stories propagated by relatives and family members serve to create an awareness of mental health conditions in society.
The second question of focus in this study helps evaluate the experience of relatives and mental health patients during the treatment process. This is an important area of focus as it will offer insights into the general perceptions held by family members and patients alike. Judging by the low numbers of mental health individuals in Jamaica seeking medical treatment for their conditions, the perception of those who have had a chance to seek medical treatment will provide pertinent insights on the reasons behind the low numbers of individuals registering for mental health treatment. Additionally, through these experiences, attitudinal changes may be initiated in the greater Jamaican public on the importance of medical treatment of mental health treatment. Moreover, the treatment experiences relatives and patients with mental health conditions will also serve to demystify the commonly held myths about mental health illnesses, thereby increasing the appreciation of thee conditions as ailments that require medical attention.
Contribution to Existing Theory
As stated earlier, the prevalence rate of mental health illness in Jamaica is alarmingly high. However, in contrast, the level and number of individuals with mental conditions seeking treatment are proportionately low, begging the question as to why there is a significant disparity between these two phenomenons. Numerous factors have been attributed to the low numbers of reported cases of mental illnesses and treatment in Jamaica. Some of the identified factors, in this case, include fear and shame, limited awareness among the public concerning mental illnesses, distrust among mental health patients, and the feeling of hopelessness inherent in most of the mental health patients. Other factors that have been identified to be causative for the low rates of reporting and treatment of mental health illnesses are the unavailability of mental health facilities and other practical barriers such as the inability of patients to foot their medical bills.
The association between the forenamed facts and the commonly held perceptions of mental health treatment among members of the Jamaican public has not been exhaustively evaluated ( Charlson et al., 2019) . With this in mind, the results of this study will provide important insights into the importance of social support systems in the wellbeing of mental health patients. In this regard, the propagation of myths on mental health by members of the family and close relatives that will be evaluated in this study will add significant inputs to the existing body of literature on the causes of the stigma and discrimination faced by mental health illness in society (Maulik et al., 2009). For instance, the results of this study, the role that close family members in eliminating stigma will be brought to the fore as well as their input in heightening the ability of these individuals to seek medical treatment for their conditions.
Additionally, this study will also provide invaluable insights into patient and relative experiences in the treatment process of mental health conditions.
Family members and close relatives provide a necessary support mechanism for mental health patients (Koschorke et al., 2017). With this in mind, the results of this study will serve to illuminate their perceptions of the treatment process for mental health patients in terms of its efficacy and suitability. Consequently, the contribution of this knowledge will serve not only in educating the general Jamaican public on the need to report and treat mental health treatment but will also provide insights on how best the mental health treatment programs and facilities p0resent in Jamaica meet the expectations of patients and their caregivers. This information is critical in the assessment of the health facilities and programs currently in place to deal with patients with mental health illnesses in Jamaica. For instance, information emanating from this study may serve to heighten public educational programs on the causative factors of mental illness, signs, and symptoms, need for treatment of these conditions. Additionally, this study will also illuminate the need to discourage stigma and discrimination of mental illness patients as a means of enhancing their overall wellbeing.
Knowledge gaps to be addressed by the study
The involvement of non-specialist in the treatment programs and treatment regimes of mental health patients is a phenomenon that has not been studied exhaustively. It is important to note that the primary caregivers for mental health patients usually constitute their family members and close relatives. The importance of that this support system offers mental health patients, especially in reducing instances in which mental health patients are subjected to stigma and discrimination, is an area that has also not been covered exhaustively ( Spagnolo et al., 2018). In this regard, this study intends to bridge this gap by highlighting how family members and relatives to ‘patients with mental conditions can be used to heighten the awareness of mental illness in society as well as in driving the agenda for patients with mental conditions to seek medical treatment for their conditions.
References
Ahmedani, B. K. (2011). Mental Health Stigma: Society, Individuals, and the Profession. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics , 8 (2), 41–416. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3248273/
Charlson, F., van Ommeren, M., Flaxman, A., Cornett, J., Whiteford, H., & Saxena, S. (2019). New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet , 394 (10194), 240-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(19)30934-1
Koschorke, M., Padmavati, R., Kumar, S., Cohen, A., Weiss, H. A., Chatterjee, S., Pereira, J., Naik, S., John, S., Dabholkar, H., Balaji, M., Chavan, A., Varghese, M., Thara, R., Patel, V., & Thornicroft, G. (2017). Experiences of stigma and discrimination faced by family caregivers of people with schizophrenia in India. Social Science & Medicine. 178 , 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.061
Lacey, K. K., Powell Sears, K., Crawford, T. V., Matusko, N., & Jackson, J. S. (2016). Relationship of social and economic factors to mental disorders among population-based samples of Jamaicans and Guyanese. BMJ Open , 6 (12), e012870. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012870
Maulik, P. K., Eaton, W. W., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2009). The role of social network and support in mental health service use: findings from the Baltimore ECA study. Psychiatric Services, 60 (9), 1222–1229. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2009.60.9.1222
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2018). Mental health. Our World Data. https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health
Spagnolo, J., Champagne, F., Leduc, N., Rivard, M., Piat, M., & Laporta, M. et al. (2018). Mental health knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy among primary care physicians working in the Greater Tunis area of Tunisia. International Journal Of Mental Health Systems , 12 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-018-0243-
Thompson, K. (2017, May 24). Mental illness worry. Jamaica Observer. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/front-page/mental-illness-worry-professionals-say-data-suggest-doubling-of-cases-in-10-years_99700
World Health Organization. (2019, November 28). Mental disorders. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders
