Publication: Help-seeking behaviors for mental health problems in medical students: Studies in Thailand and India
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Issued Date
2020-12-01
Resource Type
ISSN
18762026
18762018
18762018
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2-s2.0-85094202343
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Mahidol University
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SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Asian Journal of Psychiatry. Vol.54, (2020)
Suggested Citation
Genis Seera, Sidharth Arya, Sujata Sethi, Neshda Nimmawitt, Woraphat Ratta-apha Help-seeking behaviors for mental health problems in medical students: Studies in Thailand and India. Asian Journal of Psychiatry. Vol.54, (2020). doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102453 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/60013
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Title
Help-seeking behaviors for mental health problems in medical students: Studies in Thailand and India
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Abstract
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. Objectives: To compare the rate of help-seeking from mental health professionals (MHPs) and other sources of help for mental health problems of medical students in Thailand and India, and explore factors associated with help-seeking from MHPs. Methods: Cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted in two medical schools in Thailand and India. Students were asked to rate their preferences for each source of help on a Likert-scale basis. Mental health status was measured by the General health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Attitudes and stigma toward mental illness were collected using the Mental illness clinician's attitude scale: medical student version or MICA v2. Results: 593 students participated in the survey. The percentage of students who chose to seek help from any source was lower in Thailand than in India. 81 % of students in India site chose to seek help from MHPs, compared to 66 % in Thailand site. The risk factors for avoiding seeking help from MHPs in Thailand were history of alcohol use (OR = 1.88, p =.014) and total GHQ score (OR = 1.11, p =.006), whereas having GHQ score ≥ 2 was a significant risk factor in India (OR = 2.20, p =.044). Total MICA score, which reflected overall attitude toward mental illness, was not associated with seeking help from MHPs. Conclusions: The rate of help-seeking behaviors for mental health problems and factors associated differed between medical students in Thailand and India. A high GHQ score was a common risk factor of not seeking help from MHPs in both countries.