Mental Health Orientation for Self-Help Group Members: A Feasibility Study

BACKGROUND: Treatment gap for mental health care in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries is very large, and building workforce using the locally available resources is very much essential in reducing this gap. The current study is a preliminary work toward this direction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single group pre- and post-design was considered for assessing the feasibility of Mental Health Orientation (MHO) Program for Self-Help Group members. Assessment of participants’ MHO using Orientation Towards Mental Illness (OMI) scale was undertaken at three levels: Baseline assessment before the intervention, after completing 2 days orientation program, and 6 weeks later. RESULTS: Analysis of data resulted in statistically significant mean scores in the domains of areas of causation (F[1.41, 40.7] = 21.7, P < 0.000, η(p)(2) = 0.428), perception of abnormality (F[1.27, 36.8] = 15.8, P < 0.000, η(p)(2) = 0.353), treatment (F[1.42, 41.3] = 34.8, P < 0.000, η(p)(2) = 0.546), and after effect (F[1.36,39.4] = 26.7, P < 0.000, η(p)(2) = 0.480). Although the overall mean scores of all the domains of OMI were found to be statistically significantly different, there was no significant difference in the mean scores between post and follow-up assessments on areas of causation (μ(d) = 1.27, P = 0.440) and treatment (μ(d) = 1.00, P = 0.156). CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings of our study demonstrate that brief MHO program can exert a beneficial effect on bringing about significant change in the orientation of the participants toward mental illness but need to be refreshed over time to make the impact of the program stay longer.