Knowledge of mental health symptoms and help seeking attitude in a population-based sample in Hong Kong,International Journal of Mental Health Systems

当前位置： X-MOL 学术 › Int. J. Ment. Health Syst. › 论文详情

Our official English website, www.x-mol.net, welcomes your feedback! (Note: you will need to create a separate account there.)

Knowledge of mental health symptoms and help seeking attitude in a population-based sample in Hong Kong
International Journal of Mental Health Systems ( IF 3.463 ) Pub Date : 2021-04-28 , DOI: 10.1186/s13033-021-00462-2
Ada Wai Tung Fung , Linda Chiu Wa Lam , Sandra Sau Man Chan , Sing Lee

Mental health symptoms can be subtle, resulting in delaying treatment. A prompt identification of mental signs and symptoms is important for preventing mental disorders in the public. This study examined whether local public have adequate knowledge to identify mental health symptoms and the need to get timely professional help. The population-based telephone surveys were conducted in 2015 and 2018. It involved a random sample of 4033 respondents aged 12–75 years. Mental health knowledge and help seeking attitude were assessed using six vignettes depicting subtle and obvious symptoms of anxiety disorders, mixed anxiety and depressive disorders, and dementia. Logistic regression models were performed to examine association between mental health knowledge and help-seeking attitude. Individuals with poor knowledge in subtle symptoms were more likely to be males (t = − 5.0, p < .001), younger (F = 15.0, p < .001), have tertiary education (F = 15.0, p < .001), and employed (t = − 2.1, p = .037). The knowledge scores of subtle and obvious symptoms were 1.5 and 2.3 respectively. Binary logistic regression found that poor knowledge of subtle symptoms was associated with reluctance to professional help seeking. Poorly identified subtle mental health symptoms is a major barrier to early professional help in highly educated working males. Future research should explore specific interventions to increase knowledge and professional help seeking in this group.

更新日期：2021-04-29

点击分享查看原文

点击收藏

公开下载

阅读更多本刊最新论文

全部期刊列表>>