The evaluation of the beliefs and attitudes of patients towards mental diseases who applied to Dicle University Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic

Introduction and Aim: Mental diseases is an important condition that affects individuals' relationships, professional life and workforce, creates social stigma, economic distress, and difficulties for the patient's social environment. Individuals with mental disease are exposed to negative beliefs and attitudes by society. The aim of this study is to evaluate the beliefs and attitudes of Dicle University Faculty of Medicine Family Medicine outpatients' beliefs and attitudes towards mental diseases. Material and Methods: The study was planned in a cross-sectional descriptive style. Ethics committee approval was obtained for the study. Two hundred sixty-five patients participated in the study. A questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, Beliefs on Mental Illness Scale (BMIS) and Community Attitudes Towards Mental İllness Scale (CAMIS) was applied to the participants. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS 27.0. Results: Of the participants in our study, 64.5% were male, 58.9% were married, 84.9% lived in the city, 42.6% were civil servants, and their mean age was 34.9±10.3 years. Significant differences were found between the total score obtained by the participants from the ISMI and their gender, education level, place of residence, employment status, and knowledge of occupational and mental illnesses (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.037, p=0.014, respectively, p=0.003, p<0.001). Accordingly, it has been determined that women, those with higher education levels exhibit more positive beliefs. There was a significant difference between the total score obtained by the participants in the RSTTS and gender, marital status, education level, employment status, occupation, previous history of mental illness, current history of mental illness, history of mental illness in a relative, living with an individual with mental illness at home, and the state of having knowledge about mental illnesses (respectively p=0.023, p=0.034, p=0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001). Accordingly, it has been determined that men and those with better education have more positive attitudes. A significant positive correlation was found between age and the total scores of ISMI and RSQS (r=0.131, p=0.033; r=0.287, p<0.001, respectively). Conclusion and Recommendations: According to the highest scores of the participants from BMI and CAMI, it was determined that participants had a negative belief about mental diseases but showed a positive attitude. Social awareness of mental illnesses should be provided through education. In this regard, all health workers, especially primary care workers, have a great responsibility. Key Words: Mental Health, Mental Disease, Belief, Attitude, Family Medicine