https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7234-3510
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ABSTRACT
Background: Cambodia is a country where the resources for treating mental health disorders are far from sufficient. One strategy to narrow the treatment gap is to integrate mental health into primary health care (PHC). Understanding the knowledge and attitudes towards mental health integration that health-care workers have is important for assessing the challenges and opportunities when planning a potential integration project.
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess these basic conditions in Lvea Em District, Cambodia.
Design: A structured self-reporting questionnaire regarding attitudes and knowledge about mental health and its integration into PHC was collected from 75 health-care workers in Lvea Em District, Cambodia in October 2015. Firstly, descriptive analyses were carried out, and secondly, linear regression analyses to assess the relationship between attitudes and socio-demographic variables were conducted.
Results: There was clear support towards integrating mental health services into PHC among these participants as 81.3% were interested in personally delivering mental health care at their units. Respondents who reported having received some kind of mental health-care training tended to have a more positive attitude towards mentally ill people (p = 0.005) and those who thought there was a high need for mental health care had a more favourable attitude towards the integration of mental health services (p = 0.007).
Conclusions: The most important finding from this survey was the willingness and the acceptance of the need for integration of mental health care. This enhances the feasibility of integrating mental health services at the PHC level. Improving the competence of mental health care in these settings will likely help to reduce the treatment gap for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in Cambodia.
Responsible Editor Diana Gil-Gonzalez, University of Alicante, Spain
Responsible Editor Diana Gil-Gonzalez, University of Alicante, Spain
Acknowledgments
We would like to gratefully acknowledge all the health-care workers in Lvea Em District for participating in this study. Thank you for taking your time. We are especially grateful to Dearozet Sok, for all your help with translation and support of the field work.
Disclosure statement
No competing interests were reported by the authors.
Ethics and consent
Necessary permission was obtained from the Director of Health District in Lvea Em District, and from the National Ethics Committee for Health Research, before commencing the research. All participants of the study were asked for written informed consent after we informed them about the nature and purpose of the study. All participation was voluntary. The preliminary results of the study were shared with participants and the district health officer. Data and materials can be obtained from the authors upon request.
Paper context
One strategy to narrow the treatment gap for mental disorders is to integrate mental health services into primary health care. Health-care workers are instrumental in that integration but their attitudes towards such an integration are unknown in Cambodia. The results of this study indicated positive attitudes and therefore a favourable setting for such an integration project in Lvea Em District. Its implementation will contribute to strengthening the mental health-care services and reducing the treatment gap among mentally ill people.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Maria Alfredsson
MA contributed to the study design, carried out the data collection and analysis and wrote the draft for the manuscript. MSS supervised the design of the study, as well as data analysis and revisions of the manuscript. BJ supervised in the field and contributed with planning for the data collection and improvements of the manuscript.
Miguel San Sebastian
MA contributed to the study design, carried out the data collection and analysis and wrote the draft for the manuscript. MSS supervised the design of the study, as well as data analysis and revisions of the manuscript. BJ supervised in the field and contributed with planning for the data collection and improvements of the manuscript.
Bhoomikumar Jeghannathan
MA contributed to the study design, carried out the data collection and analysis and wrote the draft for the manuscript. MSS supervised the design of the study, as well as data analysis and revisions of the manuscript. BJ supervised in the field and contributed with planning for the data collection and improvements of the manuscript.
