Assessment of the Knowledge and Attitude Towards Mental Illness Among Non-Clinical Health Care Workers in University of Benin Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Background: Workers in the hospital environment are among the important stakeholders for the health of the society. Non-clinical hospital workers who are not directly in-touch with the patient have a major role in the indirect aspect of patient care. This role of theirs will be better played if they have a good knowledge of illnesses including mental disorders.

Objective: To assess the knowledge as well as attitude towards mental illness among non-clinical staff in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital

Methods: The study design is a descriptive cross-sectional one. A simple random sampling technique was done to select respondents who are non-clinical staff by going round all the departments in the hospital. A purposely designed instrument was used for data collection.

 Results: Out of the 115 respondents studied, the majority, 96.0% (n = 110) had a good knowledge of mental illness while five (4%) respondents had poor knowledge. Furthermore, the attitude towards mental illness showed that the majority, 95.0% (n = 109) had good attitude of mental illness while six (5%) respondents had poor attitude. Socio-demographic characteristics including the respondents’ designation at work and years of service did not impact their knowledge and attitude of mental illness in a statistically significant way.

Conclusion: Several conclusions can be drawn from this study, the most important being a generally good knowledge and positive attitude towards mental illness.