Mental health literacy of the Lebanese population (MHeLLP): a cross-sectional study
Journal of Public Mental Health
ISSN: 1746-5729
Article publication date: 1 December 2020
Issue publication date: 21 July 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study primarily aims to evaluate the mental health literacy (MHL) of the Lebanese adult population in an attempt to yield results that can help fill the gap in the literature and support the development of new strategies to counter mental health stigma.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was composed of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule and select questions from the Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill and MHL Scale. The surveys were collected from a representative population of sample size (n = 386) among the different governorates of Lebanon. The participants, aged 18–65 years and literate, were recruited between July 2018 and September 2018 from supermarkets widely distributed across the country.
Findings
The results showed that the Lebanese population possesses average knowledge and certain stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illnesses. Curricular education and awareness campaigns may help refine the image of mental illness among the population.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first in Lebanon to assess the MHL of its population as a whole. It gives insight into the common misconceptions about mental illness and patterns of the related stigma that are prevalent in the Lebanese society today.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Ms Amar Hafez and Ms Farah El Hajj for participating in data collection.There were no funding sources for this article.Ethical statement: This study was approved by the University Institutional Review Board. All the participants included in this study were informed about its purpose and signed a consent form. All data are anonymous and confidential. All participants are unidentifiable.Conflicts of interest: There are no conflicts of interest to declare.Author’s contributions: All the stated authors have participated in designing the study, collecting and analyzing the data and composing the article. All authors have approved this final version of the article for submission.
Citation
Taleb, R., Kassab, N., Kebbe, A. and Kreidieh, N. (2021), "Mental health literacy of the Lebanese population (MHeLLP): a cross-sectional study", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 132-144. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-04-2020-0031
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited