User:Rumbleisred/Mental Disorder

Treatment of Severe Mental Illness in China
Four communities in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, China, introduced peer support services for the severely mentally ill. Thirteen peer services providers, and 54 mentally ill consumers, were included in the study of the effectiveness of the program. 42 of the consumers completed the program.The peer services providers were recommended by local doctors, and had to have previously been diagnosed with either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but stable for at least six months. Their job was to help the consumers, who had had episodes of psychosis or mood more recently, readjust to everyday life. 98.6% of the services were conducted in groups, with a total of 214 services being provided. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated about a year later. 93% of the consumers who completed the program were satisfied with the peer service providers, and 86% of the consumers reported a desire to further participate in peer services.

Africa
War in Africa and Its Impact on Mental Health:

One of the most prominent causes of the rise in the prevalence of mental disorders in Africa is the many wars that have taken place in the last century. Because of the violence in these countries, there has been an increase in somatic and psychological disorders in African citizens. Clinical tests have shown that traumatizing events that have taken place in recent African wars have lead to higher levels of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Studies have shown that Ugandan citizens that were victims of war related trauma have developed disorders at high rates. 39.9% show symptoms of PTSD, 52% show symptoms of depression, and 60% show symptoms of anxiety.

Stigma of Mental Disorders in Nigeria
Among the Igbo people of Southeastern Nigeria, beliefs that stigmatize the mentally ill are common. In spite of the fact that the culture is overwhelmingly Christian (roughly 95% of the population) and communitarian, and thus places a strong value on taking care of all of its members, people in this culture are reluctant to be around the mentally ill. In a study that surveyed 692 individuals, with a 97.3% response rate, 80.9% of the population expressed a view in authoritarianism, a belief in a fundamental difference between the mentally ill and other people. Because the Igbo culture is highly collectivist, and the group is prioritized over the self, any unusual or deviant behavior is likely to be noticed and highly scrutinized. A desire for maintaining primary social distance (the avoidance of close relationships with the mentally ill) was supported by 64.4% of respondents, most likely because Igbo culture places much value on maintaining the honor of one's family. Mental illness in the family, in the Igbo culture, is seen as dishonorable for the entire family. 79.5% of the population believed in a very strong genetic basis for mental illness, and, as such, 61.6% of the population stated that they would not marry an individual who had previously had a mental illness. Despite the culture's general insistence on the support of everyone in the community, 29.8% of the population opposed community care for the mentally ill, probably because of beliefs that mental illness brings dishonor to those who are brought into contact with it. Men are less willing than women to support the mentally ill, and Roman Catholics are more accepting of mental disorders than are Protestants. People with higher levels of education have a more favorable attitude towards people with mental disorders, and the close family members of people with mental disorder also hold less stigmatizing views of the mentally ill than does the general population, as in most cultures. Studies on Severe Mental Illness in Ethiopia

There has been little attention given to mental illness in low income countries, so studies were taken to bring awareness and recognize the mental disorders found in Ethiopia. As a result of the lack of knowledge and awareness of Severe Mental Illnesses (SMI), there has unfortunately been a rise in discrimination of mentally ill Ethiopian citizens by those around them. A cross sectional study took place in Sodo District, Gurage Zone, of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia. This studied lasted from December 2014 all the way to July 2015. This district has a population of 165,000 people, as it is only 100 km from the nation's capital. At the time that the study took place, there were no mental health specialists available in this district of Ethiopia. Of the nation's entire population, 90% of it lives in rural areas, meaning that most of the labor in the country is through farming and animal husbandry. 300 participants were chosen from urban and rural areas to participate in this study to determine how people with SMI's are treated in different regions. The results of this study showed that there was much more discrimination towards those with SMI's in urban areas, where the participants reported that they felt shunned or discriminated because of their mental health by police, peers, and employers. Overall, 63.3% of the participants reported that they have been discriminated against in the previous year, most commonly being avoided or shunned. Of the 300 participants, 90% were Orthodox Christians, 94.7% were of the Gurage ethnicity, and 79.9% resided in rural areas. 36.9% of of the participants were unemployed, and, perhaps due to this, SMI's in Ethiopian citizens were linked to alcohol use, disability, and poverty.