Knowledge and Attitude of health professionals towards mental health at St. Paul’s hospital millennium medical college, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract Background: Attitudes towards mental illness can encompass positive attitudes such as acceptance, more neutral attitudes like tolerance, to negative ones such as stigma and even fear. Studies report how health care professionals including physicians and nurses are often part of stigma. This study was conducted to assess knowledge and attitude of health professionals and associated factors towards mental health, in St. Paul’s millennium medical college. Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in St. Paul’s hospital millennium medical college. We recruited 303 health professionals. Data was collected by trained data collectors using a structured questionnaire. Data was entered and analyze by statistical package for social science software. Bi-variable and Multivariate analysis was conducted to assess the presence of association between independent and dependent variables. Result: In this study about 84.8% of health professionals have adequate knowledge towards mental illness. About 79.6% have favourable attitude towards mental illness. About 69.5% of medical doctors and 78.7% of nurses have favourable attitude. Those professionals had >5years experience were 3.2 times (AOR: 3.2; 95%CI: 1.3-8.0) more likely to have favourable attitude as compared with those had <2years work experience. Those professionals took training were 3 times (AOR: 3.0; 95%CI 1.4-6.4) more likely to have favourable attitude as compared with those never took training. The odds of having favourable attitude on those professionals took both theory and practical training were 6.1 times (AOR: 6.1; 95%CI: 2.5-15) more likely as compared with those only took theory. Likewise work experience, training and type of training taken were significantly associated with knowledge of health professionals towards mental illness. Conclusion: About eighty five percent of health professionals have adequate knowledge and eighty percent of health professionals have favourable attitude. Work experience, training and type of training taken are significantly associated with both knowledge and attitude of health professional towards mental illness. Practical base training should be given for all health professional to improve knowledge and attitude of health professionals towards mental illness