Adults' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Willingness to Interact With Patients Suffering From Mental Illness in Jeddah City

BACKGROUND: Mental illness is a serious health problem. Understanding the views of different communities toward patients with mental illness is important in understanding how communities deal with these patients. AIM: To investigate Saudi adults' knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to interact with patients with mental illness. METHOD: The study followed a quantitative approach, a descriptive correlation design. RESULTS: The study results indicate that while participants had knowledge and positive attitudes toward certain aspects, they had negative knowledge and attitudes regarding other aspects. Most participants (61.1%) mentioned that the cause of mental illness is biological, 61.9% stated that medication is a useful way to treat patients with mental illness, and 90% believed that patients with mental illness deserve respect. Furthermore, 35.8% of participants believed that patients with mental illness had a tendency toward dangerous and aggressive behavior, whereas 33.2% believed that the community is safer if patients with mental illness are kept in hospitals. There was a positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes toward patients with mental illness (r = .305, p < .01). On the other hand, the study found that there is a statistically significant and negative correlation among adults' attitudes and their readiness to interact with patients. CONCLUSIONS: The study will ideally encourage stakeholders to design and initiate an educational strategic program at the community level in order to improve community members' awareness and attitudes and enhance their readiness to interact with patients with mental illness.