Mental health literacy at the public health level in low and middle income countries: An exploratory mixed methods study in Vietnam

Abstract

Purpose Mental health literacy (MHL) is key for mental health development, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC) where mental health resources are limited. MHL development can be thought of as occurring at two levels: the individual person level (via direct contact, with specifically-targeted individuals), and the public health level (via indirect contact through public media, targeting the general public). Each approach has advantages and disadvantages. Methods The present mixed methods study assessed the status of and best approaches for development of mental health literacy in the Southeast Asian LMIC Vietnam. Because there has been relatively little discussion of MHL development at the public health level, this assessment focused on the public health level, although not exclusively. Because mental health professionals generally have the most in-depth understanding of their mental health system, study participants were 82 Vietnamese mental health professionals who completed a quantitative survey, with 48 participating in focus groups. Results Most of the professionals viewed MHL in Vietnam as low or very low, and that it was difficult or very difficult for the general public to find effective mental health services. Main barriers underlying these problems and more generally for developing MHL in Vietnam identified in the focus groups were: (a) misinformation in the media regarding mental health and mental illness; (b) lack of licensure for non-medical mental health professionals (e.g., psychologists; social workers); (c) lack of interest in mental health from upper-level leadership. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study assessing professionals’ perceptions regarding mental health literacy at both the public health and individual-person levels. Although sampling was restricted to Vietnamese professionals, results may provide initial preliminary guidance for other LMIC considering mental health literacy development at multiple levels.

Mental Health Literacy of University Students in Vietnam and Cambodia

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How does the British public understand mental health? A qualitative analysis of open-text responses

“…Findings from existing research suggest that how people understand their own and others’ mental health conditions affects their behaviour, in terms of how they may respond to others with a mental health condition, and also how they may seek and respond to treatment if they were experiencing a problem themselves ( Dang et al, 2020 ; Goldney et al, 2005 ; Jorm, 2000 ; Jorm et al, 1997 ). For example, people who conceptualised depression as being a personal weakness rather than a mental health problem were more likely to try and deal with the problem alone ( Jorm et al, 2006 ); while those who attributed depression to ‘biological’ factors such as genetics were observed to be positively disposed to taking anti-depressants ( Carter et al, 2017 ).…”

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“…In contemporary society, Vietnamese mothers mainly utilise private clinics for antenatal care, which rarely provide mental health services, while they use public hospitals for delivery only (Heo et al, 2020). Dang et al (2021) explained three reasons that lead to poor mental health literacy among health professionals, including misleading mental health information due to social media, insufficient licencing for non-medical mental health providers such as psychologists and social workers, and modest interest in mental health from senior leaders. Taken together, the evidence shows the importance of mental health services, and specifically, the unmet need, which is a considerable clinical gap in antenatal and postnatal care services in Vietnam (further details on Vietnam's are provided in Annex 1).…”

“…Thus, it is recommended that social workers should be licensed mental health professionals to support IPV survivors in all hospitals (Dang et al, 2021), and provide interventions to change behaviour of perpetrators, which together may provide wholistic mechanisms to address the complex adversities of IPV, mental distress and relationship difficulties. (Le et al, 2019).…”