Mental health literacy in people with mental illness: an exploratory study in a psychiatric service

Abstract

Recognizing that people with low levels of Mental Health Literacy will have more difficulty identifying the symptoms of their illness early and receiving appropriate treatments, and that Mental Health Literacy is an important therapeutic strategy, the objective was to assess the levels of Mental Health Literacy in severely mentally ill patients admitted to a psychiatric unit. This exploratory and observational study, approved by the Ethics Committee of a hospital in the central region of Portugal, involved 46 people with mental illness who signed informed consent forms. Mental Health Literacy Measure (MHLM), which scores from 0 to 26 points, levels were higher than those reported in the literature, with a median (25th-75th percentile) of 19 (16-21), with emphasis on the domains of knowledge (9) (8-11) and resources (3) (2-4). Age influenced the domains of beliefs and resources, and educational attainment influenced the domain of resources. Increasing mental health literacy in people with mental illness means focusing on promoting mental health and empowering them to use available resources consciously and responsibly to manage their illness.