Assessment of mental health literacy of health professionals

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to determine the level of mental health literacy (MHL) of healthcare professionals who do not work in a mental health unit. METHODS: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The study group comprised 239 health professionals (nurses, dieticians, midwives, medical assistants, biologists, social service specialist, child development specialists) who worked in departments other than the mental health unit of a training and research hospital. A sociodemographic data form and the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) were used to collect the study data. The mean, SD, minimum and maximum values, and percentage were used to describe the data after analysis using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 29.93±8.71 years, and they had a mean of 8.9±9.04 years of professional experience. The majority of the participants were female (n=206; 86.2%), and single (n=140; 58.6%). The mean total MHL score was 16.96±3.30. The mean knowledge subscale score was 8.45±1.69, and the mean score of the belief subscale was 5.32±1.70. Age, marital status, education level, and occupation were significant; gender was not a statistically significant variable. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The MHL level of the health professionals participating in the study was above average, but less than optimal. Educational programs to increase the knowledge of all healthcare staff would benefit patient care and promote early intervention.