Majid Ali Abidi, Mohammad Waqas, Wajiha Zia, Nida Ayaz, Arsalan M, Mehwish Asghar, Mudassir, Mohsin, Saira.
Attitude of patients / caregivers towards seeking professional help and factors affecting it; a cross sectional study.
J Pak Psych Soc Jan ;8(2):74-8.

Objective: To determine attitude of people towards opting a treatment modality for mental illnesses and factors affecting it in Psychiatric Outpatient department at Hamdard University Hospital, Karachi. Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and duration of study: This study was carried out at Psychiatric Outpatient department at Hamdard University Hospital, Karachi from 1st January 2008 to 31st May 2009. Subjects and Methods: Patients/ caregivers presenting at Psychiatric OPD of Hamdard University Hospital, Karachi from 1st January 2008 to 31st May 2009 were interviewed according to a standard questionnaire. Consent was taken from each and every patient/caregivers. Data was analyzed using SPSS 16 version. Results: The study comprised 531 patients of which 42.4% were males and 57.6% females. Mean age was found to be 32.1 years (S.D= +/-12.1). Regarding mode of treatment opted first, 64.4% resorted to medical treatments while 28.8 % used spiritual forms of treatment. 33.9% patients said that they consulted family physician for their problem first. 37.3% consulted a psychiatrist first followed by 18.7% who consulted various moulvis, Aalims and peers. Other forms of traditional healers consulted include hakims (6.8%) and homeopaths (3.4%). Only 17.1% patients said that they had psychiatric treatment alone. 65.7 % thought Rohani ilaaj to be part of religion or both religion and culture. And only 12% thought that Rohani Ilaaj has no role in treatment of mental illnesses. Conclusion: Strong belief still exists in traditional healing in our society. Although psychiatric treatment is becoming increasingly popular and acceptable, work needs to be done to increase awareness.

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