Stigmatising attitude and reflections towards mental illness at community setting, population-based approach, Baghdad...

Addressing the social stigma of mental illness is of importance in Iraq where mentally ill patients experience the compounded disadvantages of inadequate health services and illness stigma.

To study the prevalence and magnitude of the social stigma towards mental illnesses.

A cross-sectional study has been carried out on 300 male and female participants at shopping malls and public cafes in Baghdad, Iraq. A self-administered questionnaire made data collection. Descriptive, and analytic statics procedure was operated as far as a convenience by using Excel 365 version as a data management tool.

About (80%) of the respondents revealed a moderate degree of stigmatising attitude towards mental illness with a Likert scale total equivalent score range of (2.34-3.669). About (20%) of respondents showed a low degree of stigmatising attitude towards mental illness, with a Likert scale total equivalent score range of (1-2.339). P-value was highly significant (=0.011798) <0.05 among gender variables while it is not significant among age, income, education, and positive family of mental illnesses. 83% of the respondents prefer the medical management of mental illnesses.

There were no clear roles of socio-demographic factors in the stigmatic attitude towards mental illnesses. This finding warrants a more in-depth look into the Iraqi community's cultural, social, and moral contexts.