Stigma, Culture, and Care: A Quantitative Analysis of Mental Health Treatment-Seeking Behavior Among Hondurans

During a medical service trip to rural Honduras, novel data were recorded, which indicated that Honduran citizens have a negative outlook on seeking treatment for mental health disorders. These data are one of a kind with very little research being done on mental health within third-world countries like Honduras, and subsequently a notable gap in the literature on the receptivity of citizens towards treating mental health conditions. The objective of this study is to use previously collected data on depression and anxiety in Honduras and quantify the attitudes of citizens, specifically towards treatment, with a concurrent analysis on the confounding variables surrounding mental health in Honduras as a whole.

Data were collected in the Santa Barbára region of Honduras spanning over 2000 patients seen by the team involved in the medical aid. Results were narrowed down to 85 total patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The survey consisted of four questions that followed up after the completion of a complete medical history, with a focus on openness and accessibility towards treatment of mental health disorders with associated variables. Data was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient, two-tailed T-Test assuming equal variances. This study was designed in alignment with the osteopathic philosophy that health is influenced by the interrelationship of mind, body, and spirit and the importance of treating the whole person. In line with this approach, the survey methodology incorporated cultural, psychosocial, and environmental variables that may influence mental health treatment-seeking behavior. Internet use, social support, household structure, and perceived stigma were measured as reflections of determinants of health beyond clinical treatment.  Results: The results of the initial survey asking if patients would seek professional help for a mental health disorder showed a 52.9% majority in favor of denying treatment from a professional. Conversely, 94.1% of survey respondents chose they were open to talking to friends about mental health disorders. Using a Pearson correlation coefficient, the results showed an increase in the standard deviation of treatment-seeking behavior of 0.32 per hour of internet usage time showing a positive correlation between the two variables above the 0.30 threshold standard deviations for strong correlation. Using a two-tailed t-test, it was found that the results of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient were statistically significant with P = 0.000028. Additional survey results showed that 42.1% of respondents would not select treatment based on cost, also the same percentage did not specify a reason as to why they would not seek out treatment. 5.3% of respondents would not seek out treatment due to work conflicts. Lastly, 10.5% of respondents would not seek out treatment due to distance.

Through this study, we were able to identify the attitudes of Honduras towards seeking out treatment when faced with mental health conditions. Novel data introduced in this study show a statistically significant positive correlation between social media usage, and mental health treatment-seeking behavior. With the data showing a majority of Hondurans declining the option of seeking out professional treatment for mental health disorders, if they were faced with one, we strongly encourage further research into expanding availability of care for mental health disorders in Honduras.