Public Perception of Mental Illness: Opportunity for Community-based Collaborative Intervention

We explore factors contributing to poor mental healthcare, treatments and help-seeking behaviors among communities in Nigeria and across Africa. The findings from the interview of 25 stakeholders reveal some socio-cultural factors such as negative perceptions, stigmatizations, religious beliefs, and absence of automated supports, which hinder mental healthcare and help-seeking. Also, delays in seeking appropriate medical attention and intake of untested local herbs could lead to severe depressive symptoms, suicidal risks, and adversely affect the mental health of clients. Based on our findings, and in collaboration with the stakeholders, we designed "Gwam-Okwu" [Talk to Me]; a culturally-appropriate interactive app that is hyper-localized, safe and secured, and tailored to support communication and collaboration between health workers and clients/relations, personalized self-monitoring, and guided self-learning for the clients.