Research Profiles

Stigma towards mental disorders and to persons with mental illness (PWMI) is well known. It affects the PWMI, their families, network of friends, general public and health care professionals. It is a major barrier for PWMI to seek treatment which contributes to the burden of disease, disability and mortality. Stigma can also hinder the early recognition of mental disorders which impedes early intervention, which is critical for successful recovery. While research on stigma and discrimination towards mental disorders and PWMI in non-Middle Eastern countries is rich, it is relatively scant in the Middle East and particularly in Qatar. To address stigma effectively in a given culture, it is essential to study its nature in the context where the PWMI experience internalized stigma. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the levels and perception of internalized stigma in PWMI in Qatar.

In Qatar, there has been increasing recognition of the negative impact of mental illness, with the launching in 2013 of the Qatar National Mental Health Strategy called Changing Minds, Changing Lives. The strategy highlights the critical importance of designing a mental health service model that decreases stigma, while developing a mental health workforce that is sensitive to the issues arising from stigma. However, while stigma towards PWMD is widely acknowledged as problematic, there has been no research in Qatar. Therefore, given the high burden of mental disorders in Qatar, the commonly acknowledged presence and impact of stigma, and the lack of research on the topic, we developed and implemented a qualitative study to develop a better understanding of stigma based on the stories and experiences of PWMD in Qatar.

"Negative attitudes toward mental illness by Health Care Professionals (HCP) have been reported in many countries across the world. Stigmatizing attitudes by HCP can have adverse consequences on people with mental illness from delays in seeking help to decreased quality of care provided. Assessing such attitudes is an essential step in understanding such stigma and, if needed, developing and testing
appropriate and culturally adapted interventions to reduce it. Therefore the purpose of this study was to assess physicians’ and nurses’ attitudes toward mental illness and to determine associated factors with different levels of stigma."