Introduction

Mental illness has become a global public health issue and according to WHO report in 2015, United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded the highest level of depression among all countries at Eastern Mediterranean Region. Many people frequently suffer from mental health diseases but tend not to obtain help. Treatment delay can become life-threatening.

Objectives

This study aimed to identify the barriers to seeking professional help for mental illness and the consequences of untreated mental health disorders. The study also aimed to examine outcomes in patients when help was provided by health care providers.

Methods

A self-administrated survey was distributed among 377 people randomly selected from general population of three different cities at United Arab Emirates (UAE): Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Their perception of the barriers, consequences and outcomes was analyzed to achieve the objectives of the study.

Results

Overall, 341 participants completed the survey. Wrong thought regarding mental disorders (60.1%) and being ashamed (58.9%) were identified to be the most common and significant barriers (P < 0.001) that prevent people from obtaining healthcare providers’ assistance. The majority of responders reported building confidence (78.9%) and improvement in relationships (73.0%) as outcomes for taking professional help in mental illness. Moreover, many individuals believed that untreated mental illness could lead to problems with family and friends (69.2%) as well as to suicidal thoughts (56.3%).

Conclusion

This research gives some insights regarding the challenges associated with mental diseases management in the UAE. Majority of responders had a negative perception of mental health service due to a lack of awareness regarding treatment effectiveness for mental disorders.

中文翻译：

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与心理健康管理相关的挑战：障碍和后果。

介绍

精神疾病已成为全球公共卫生问题，根据世界卫生组织 2015 年的报告，阿拉伯联合酋长国（UAE）的抑郁症水平在东地中海地区所有国家中最高。许多人经常患有精神疾病，但往往得不到帮助。治疗延误可能会危及生命。

目标

本研究旨在确定寻求精神疾病专业帮助的障碍以及未经治疗的精神疾病的后果。该研究还旨在检查在医疗保健提供者提供帮助时患者的结果。

方法

一项自我管理的调查分布在从阿拉伯联合酋长国 (UAE) 三个不同城市的普通人群中随机选择的 377 人中：阿布扎比、迪拜和沙迦。分析了他们对障碍、后果和结果的看法，以实现研究的目标。

结果

总体而言，341 名参与者完成了调查。关于精神障碍的错误想法（60.1%）和感到羞耻（58.9%）被认为是阻碍人们获得医疗保健提供者帮助的最常见和最重要的障碍（P < 0.001）。大多数响应者报告说，建立信心（78.9%）和改善人际关系（73.0%）是接受精神疾病专业帮助的结果。此外，许多人认为未经治疗的精神疾病会导致与家人和朋友的问题（69.2%）以及自杀念头（56.3%）。

结论

这项研究提供了一些关于阿联酋精神疾病管理相关挑战的见解。由于缺乏对精神障碍治疗效果的认识，大多数响应者对精神卫生服务有负面看法。