Perceptions and knowledge of mental illness in rural Kenya

Epidemiological patterns of mental disorders and stigma in a community household survey in urban slum and rural settings in Kenya

“…Mental health stigma is socially constructed, its manifestation being dependent on context and cultural norms (Rao & Valencia-Garcia, 2014; Yang et al, 2007). Most studies on stigma and its impacts have been done in developed countries (World Health Organization (WHO), 2008) with few in developing countries (Wirth & Bodenhausen, 2008) where it has been shown that culture has an influence on the experience, expression and determinants of stigma (Ikwuka et al, 2016) and where also perceived mental illness stigma was found to be higher than in developed countries (Alonso et al, 2008), Kenya included (Walton, Matheson, Webster, Kotadia, & Kapoor, 2016). Our study provides an overview of mental illness prevalence in community settings (rural and urban) in Kenya and compares attitudes and stigma towards persons with mental illness in urban and rural settings.…”