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Cited by 60Mental Health Treatment and AccessHealth Literacy and Information AccessibilityPsychology and Mental Health

Mental health literacy in Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council: A systematic review

Open access
Elyamani, Rowaida, Naja, Sarah, Al-Dahshan, Ayman, Hamoud, Hamed, Bougmiza, Mohammed Iheb, Alkubaisi, Noora·2021·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0245156PMC PMC7790272
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mental health literacy (MHL) has been relatively neglected, despite the increase of mental health illnesses worldwide, as well as within the Middle East region. A low level of MHL may hinder public acceptance of evidence-based mental health care. AIM: This systematic review aims to identify and appraise existing research, focusing on MHL among adults in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. METHODS: A systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, and Medline) was carried out from database inception to July 2019, in order to identify peer-reviewed journal articles that investigated MHL in the GCC countries. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were: cross-sectional studies, reported in English, targeted adults (aged 18 and above), conducted in any of the GCC countries, include at least one outcome measure of the main components of MHL: knowledge of mental illnesses and their treatment, stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illnesses, and seeking help for self and offering help. RESULTS: A total of 27 studies (16,391 participants) were included. The outcome across studies varied due to disparity in the tested populations. Findings show that limited MHL was observed among participants, even health care professionals. Results also show a high cumulative level of stigma and negative attitude towards mental health illness in the public. Negative beliefs and inappropriate practices are common, as well. The majority of studies yielded a moderate to high risk of bias. CONCLUSION: This work indicates that research on MHL must be tackled through well-designed large-scale studies of the public. Campaigns to promote early identification and treatment of mental illness is also encouraged to improve overall level of MHL in the general population of the GCC region. Registration number: PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018104492.

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  • There are several barriers to treatment in Arabic-speaking populations, some similar to those in Europe, Australia or the United States (e.g., fear of stigmatisation, shame, lack of time, treatment expectations).

    “There are several barriers to treatment in Arabic-speaking populations, some of which are similar to those found in samples from Europe, Australia or the United States (e.g., fear of stigmatisation, shame, lack of time, treatment expectations; Elyamani et al., 2021;Ibrahim et al., 2020Ibrahim et al., , 2022)).”

    From An internet‐based cognitive behavioural intervention for adults with depression in Arabic‐speaking countries: A randomized controlled trial. (2024) · cites this paper as Elyamani et al., 2021

    The Results (Characteristics of the studies and participants; page unavailable) report stigma and attitudes toward seeking psychological help in Gulf populations, supporting part of the claim. The passages do not identify shame, lack of time, or treatment expectations as barriers, or compare barriers with samples from Europe, Australia, or the United States. Searches for treatment barriers and those comparisons found no passage establishing them. (LLM, conf=0.77)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [19]Al-Atram AA. Physicians’ Knowledge and Attitudes towards Mental Health in Saudi Arabia. Ethiop J Sci. 2018; 28(6): 771 30607094 PMC6308754
  2. [38]Meguid M A, Rabie M A, Bassim R E. Stigma and attitude toward mentally ill among a sample of non-medical staff working in psychiatric hospitals. A transcultural study. Arab Journal of Psychiatry. 2010; 22(1): 55– 64.

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Authors
Elyamani, R., Naja, S., Al-Dahshan, A., Hamoud, H., Bougmiza, M. I., & Alkubaisi, N.
Affiliations
Hamad Medical Corporation (QA)
Corresponding author
  • Elyamani, Rowaida
  • Al-Dahshan, Ayman
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2021-01-07
Volume
16
Issue
1
Pages
e0245156
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0245156
PMC
PMC7790272
OpenAlex
W3119599395
Cited by
60
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 1
FWCI
1.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (acceptedVersion)
  • Figshare (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Qatar National Library
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
Keywords
mental health literacy, Gulf Cooperation Council, mental health stigma, attitudes toward mental illness, help-seeking, mental illness knowledge, healthcare workers, Middle East
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Humans, Mental Health, Middle East, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Arabs, Evidence-Based Medicine, Health Literacy

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