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Stigma and General Help-Seeking Behaviour Among Rural Residents at Al-Karad Village, Ad Dabbah Northern State, Sudan 2022

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2025

Danya Ibrahim ,
Mohja Mohamed ,
Lana Mustafa ,
Marwa Abdelwhab Alameen  and
Emtenan Khurasani Ahmed
Danya Ibrahim
Affiliation:
Khartoum University, Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum, Sudan
Mohja Mohamed
Affiliation:
Khartoum University, Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum, Sudan
Lana Mustafa
Affiliation:
Khartoum University, Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum, Sudan
Marwa Abdelwhab Alameen
Affiliation:
Khartoum University, Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum, Sudan
Emtenan Khurasani Ahmed
Affiliation:
Khartoum University, Faculty of Medicine, Khartoum, Sudan
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Abstract

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Aims: This study aimed to assess help-seeking intentions for personal and emotional problems, suicidal thoughts, and sources of help, and to evaluate perceived stigma about psychological treatment among participants.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2022. A total of 101 participants filled out an online survey through interviews. The questionnaire is composed of sociodemographic characteristics; 14 items of a structured standardized questionnaire of general help-seeking behaviour using the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ) and Stigma scale for receiving psychological help (SSRPH).

Results: The majority of the participants were above 30 years (70.3%). The level of stigma was predominantly low (58%) and high stigma was at 24%. The majority of the participants experienced suicidal thoughts (68%) and mostly were males. Most of the participants preferred to seek help from a mental health professional (M=5, SE=0.26) followed by their partner (M=4.5, SE=0.26) then parents and family members (M=4.4, SE=0.25).

Conclusion: Stigma has a significant impact on the people of Sudan, affecting individual behaviours and creating barriers for others. Recommendations include focusing on mental health advocacy, reaching out to individuals with suicidal thoughts, and providing mental health services in rural areas, particularly in Al-Karad village.

Information

Type
Research
Information
BJPsych Open , Volume 11 , Supplement S1: Abstracts from the RCPsych International Congress 2025, 23–26 June , June 2025 , pp. S41 - S42
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Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists

Footnotes

Abstracts were reviewed by the RCPsych Academic Faculty rather than by the standard BJPsych Open peer review process and should not be quoted as peer-reviewed by BJPsych Open in any subsequent publication.

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