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Ideological vs. Instrumental Barriers to Accessing Formal Mental Health care in the Developing World: Focus on South-eastern Nigeria
- Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 27, Number 1, February 2016
- pp. 157-175
- 10.1353/hpu.2016.0025
- Article
- Additional Information
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The striking gaps in formal mental health care in the developing world are largely traceable to Instrumental and Ideological Barriers. Focusing on south-eastern Nigeria, the study aimed to establish the relative weight, significance and determinants of these barriers for prioritised policy interventions. Multistage sampling method was used to select participants (n = 706) to whom questionnaires were administered. Ideological Barriers (cultural and mental health literacy constraints) were more significantly perceived (84.8%) than Instrumental Barriers (systemic and financial impediments) (56.6%). The study demonstrated the primacy of improved knowledge in plugging the gap in conventional mental health care in a region ironically defined more by systemic and material poverty. This is instructive for prioritised policy interventions with an indication that even if facilities and socio-economic status improve, services will likely be underused without greater improvement in people’s conceptualisation of mental illness. It equally underscored the need for cultural competence in mental health service provision.