Pilot Community Mental Health Awareness Campaign Improves Service Coverage in India

Low community awareness of mental health problems negatively impacts treatment-seeking for such problems. Despite a shortage of mental health providers, there is scope to improve coverage of mental health services in India. In this study, we examined the impact of a multi-state community-based awareness campaign on knowledge, attitude, treatment-seeking behavior and acceptability.

Campaign activities included educational materials, public meetings, musical announcements, quizzes, and street plays, followed by a mental health screening camp. A rapid, real-world evaluation was conducted using post-intervention surveys (n = 693), field notes and telephonic interviews in five states.

The campaign, implemented as a public-private partnership between government service providers and community-based organizations, reached ~ 3000 people in 20 new locations across five states. As a result of the campaign, 1,176 persons sought treatment services for mental disorders and 66% received a preliminary diagnosis. Collectively, campaign activities were the first time that ~ 75% of participants reported learning about mental health problems. Participants expressed knowledge that mental disorders are treatable, listed common symptoms and location of available mental health services and attitudes supporting people with mental health problems.

The campaign enabled improved coverage for mental health services, potentially by enhancing knowledge, attitude and treatment-seeking behavior. Future research may develop a quasi-experimental evaluation of the current campaign methodology.