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Hindi Research Article, Int J Ment Health Psychiatry Vol: 2 Issue: 3
Cross-Sectional Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) towards Mental Illnesses among University Students in Lebanon
| Sara Abou Azar1, Krystelle Hanna1, Riwa Sabbagh1, Karen Sayad1, Rita Tatiana Abi-Younes1, Marie Nader1, Jean Claude El-Aramouni1, Jose Bou Nassif1, Juliana Breidy2 and Hani Tamim2,3* | |
| 1American University of Beirut Medical Center, School of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon | |
| 2American University of Beirut Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Clinical Research Institute, Beirut, Lebanon | |
| 3American University of Beirut Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon | |
| Corresponding author : Hani Tamim, PhD Associate professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Director, Biostatistics Unit, Clinical Research Institute, Director, Fellowship and Residency Research Program, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon Tel: 00961-71-807767 Fax: 000961-1-738025 E-mail: hani_t@hotmail.com, htamim@aub.edu.lb |
|
| Received: April 01, 2016 Accepted: June 06, 2016 Published: June 10, 2016 | |
| Citation: Azar SA, Hanna K, Sabbagh R, Sayad K, Abi-Younes RT, et al. (2016) Cross-Sectional Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) towards Mental Illnesses among University Students in Lebanon. Int J Ment Health Psychiatry 2:3. doi:10.4172/2471-4372.1000125 |
Abstract
Purpose: Society tends to accord greater importance to biological illnesses, in comparison to mental disorders. In Lebanon, a gap was observed in the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards mental disorders. We aimed to assess the KAP regarding mental illnesses among university students and to compare their outlook based on socio-demographic characteristics, educational factors and previous exposure to mental disorders.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Lebanese university students. A questionnaire was filled by 598 students. KAP were assessed by separate sets of questions for two categories of disorders: anxiety and depression (AD) and schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (SBD). The questionnaire consisted of 4 sections with 5 possible answers to choose from. A mean score was generated for each of the 4 sections.
Results: The mean age of students was 20.9 (±2.1). The mean scores for the “Causes” of AD and SBD were 3.1 (±0.57) and 3.3 (±0.6), respectively. The average scores for the “Knowledge” of AD and SBD were 3.6 (±0.7) and 3.4 (±0.7), respectively. As for the “Attitude”, the average scores were 3.6 (±0.6) for AD and 3.4 (±0.6) for SBD. In relation to “Practice”, the mean scores for AD were 3.2 (±0.5), and 3.2 (±0.4) for SBD. Factors as “Health” field of study, higher educational level, female gender and previous exposure to mentally ill patients were found to be associated with higher scores in KAP.
Conclusion: Better educational plans are needed in Lebanon to further increase society’s general understanding and management of mental disorders.
