Addressing Stigma and Discrimination Towards Mental Illness: A Community Based Intervention Programme from India

Abstract

Persons with mental illness experience discrimination due to the stigmatizing attitudes of the society. Desired social distance was greater for the person depicted in the psychosis, and the main predictor of greater social distance was perceiving the person as dangerous. In India men with schizophrenia reported being unmarried, hid their illness in job applications and from others, and experienced ridicule and shame. They reported that their experience of stigma was most acute at their places of employment. Women reported experiences of stigma in relation to marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth. The current paper narrates a step model community-based intervention programme that was attempted to reduce stigma prevailed in the community towards persons affected with mental illness and their family. Four members affected with mental illness from a family were reported to the psychiatric hospital with the help of a voluntary organization. Four of them were suffering from chronic schizophrenia and malnutrition. Psychiatric social work team made use of Home Visit, Family Burden Schedule and Stigma Questionnaire to assess the family condition. The assessments revealed that the family was facing serious discrimination in the village; neighbours were not coming home, children threw stones to the home and people considered the family was under the attack of evil spirits. All the family members were deprived of their basic needs like food, water and social living. Other than giving hospital-based treatment for the family members affected with mental illness, availing disability benefits, and rehabilitating the persons, the psychiatric social work team organized one day community-based intervention programme targeting knowledge and attitude of community members towards mental illness. The key elements of community-based intervention were home visits, one to one interaction, collaborative work with local governing bodies, street play, experience sharing by a person affected with mental illness, display and distribution of IEC material, interactive sessions and oath taking. The community-based intervention could bring changes in the stigma, reduced discrimination and increased social acceptance and social support of the family members.