| Popis: |
Objective: This study estimates the duration between the onset of psychopathology and first contact with a psychiatric service-either in a sectorized Community Mental Health Centre, or a non-sectorized service of the wider public health sector, in order to identify factors affecting help-seeking behaviour. Methods: A total of 403 individuals who sought help from a Community Mental Health Centre (CMHC) during the first three years of its operation (first single visits) were selected as the study population. They were divided into two groups, those with no previous contact with any psychiatric service (group A) and those who had already contacted a health or mental health professional in the past and prior to their referral to CMHC (group B). Results: The two groups did not exhibit significant differences regarding the reported duration (in months) of untreated mental disorders, which was found to be 16.48 (SD 15.13) and 17.15 (SD 17.30) for groups A and B respectively. With regard to the onset of mental disorder, 40% of group A and 20% of group B reported an onset within ‘less than six months’ prior to help seeking. Of 48 individuals with a diagnosis of ‘schizophrenia’, 45 had a previous contact with another healthcare service, mainly not psychiatric. They also exhibited prolonged delays in obtaining appropriate treatment. Conclusion: These findings could be attributed to the existing insufficient referral network among health services in the community, resulting in the prolonged duration of untreated mental disorders. The newly established CMHC could initiate intervention programmes in order to increase awareness of the early recognition of psychopathologic symptoms and the need for immediate treatment. |
