Residents’ Perception of States’ Ministries of Health’s Strategies for Communicating Mental Health Information in South-South Region of Nigeria
Keywords:
Mental Health, Communication Strategies, Health, Perception, Ministry of Health, South-South RegionAbstract
This study was motivated by the perceived negative perception of people with mental health issues by residents of South-South Region of Nigeria, as well as seeming lack of awareness of mental health issues among the residents. Consequent upon the above, the study investigated how the residents perceive the mental health information communication strategies of the Rivers and Akwa Ibom States’ Ministries of Health, the institutions entrusted with mental health information diffusion in the region. The theoretical framework rested on the agenda, selective influences as well as social learning theories. Adopting survey design, the study sampled 384 respondents drawn from a population of 2,167,600, using purposive and convenience sampling methods. The findings reveal that the residents generally perceive the communication strategies of the States’ Ministries of Health as ineffective, as a result of the nature of the strategies which are infrequent, lack explanation and depth. Again, the strategies do not adopt trickle-down and society-specific models to reach the grassroots, resulting in low level awareness and negative perception of mental health issues among residents of the region. Against the background of the findings, the study recommended that the Ministries of Health in the South-South region should review their mental health information dissemination strategies in terms of regularity, clarity and use of society and community-specific communication channels.
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