Essay - Mental Health in Developing Countries: the Role of Education Toward...

Mental Health in Developing Countries: The Role of Education toward the Development ***** Understanding of Mental ***** Needs of Nigerian Citizens

Introduction

Mental health problems are not the sole purview of developed nations, of course, nor ***** ********** any different in terms ***** causation or their general responsiveness to modern therapeutic techniques. In some cases, though, longstanding perceptions the efficacy of traditional healing methods and the actual causes of mental illness may adversely affect ***** ability of such modern ********** services to effect substantive improvements in the *****ly ill. To help understand what factors are ********** in delivering effective mental health services to the citizens of developing nations in general and Nigeria in particular, this paper provides a review ***** ***** peer-reviewed and scholarly literature to this end, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in ***** conclusion.

***** and Discussion

Background and Overview.

*****, Nigeria is Africa's most populous country that enjoys an abundance of natural resources, but the ***** continues to suffer from the impact of a colonial past; however, ***** progress in overcoming these historic constraints has been made in recent years (Nigeria, 2008). Nevertheless, the life expectancy of *****s rema*****s miserably low ***** ***** incidence of substance abuse-related ***** health problems has ***** on the rise over ***** past several ***** (Fiki, 2007). More*****, studies have shown that there is an increase in the practice of comb*****ing various subst*****ces such as heroin and cannabis or alcohol in ways that are creat*****g some significant challenges for the healthcare community in Nigeria ***** its neighboring countries (Fiki). There*****e, identifying current approaches and their historic b*****is represents an import*****t pursuit, which is d*****cussed further below.

***** of the Study.

***** ***** perspective of a majority of modern Nigerians, mental illness continues to be primarily equated with severe psychoses; ***** popular concepts ***** mental health ***** are founded in large part on the idea ***** mental illness is the result of supernatural forces, notions that are firmly established even among educated Nigerians (Kemp, 1993). In recent years, *****, ***** are indications that this is changing ***** some extent, though, with the primary forces of change being increased education concerning mental illness and exposure to modern medical ********** (Ilechukwu, 1988). One of the most important medical events in the history ***** mental ***** care ***** Nigeria was the establishment of Aro Psychiatric Hospital (Nervous Diseases Hospital) in Abeokuta in 1952; this facility was established during a period in *****'s history when electroshock therapy was regarded as the most efficacious ***** therapeutic treatment modality available (Kemp).

Follow*****g the establishment ***** the Aro ***** Hospital, health***** practitioners came to realize that modern medical ***** could be more effective than traditional methods, a process that w***** reinforced ***** the establishment of still more psychiatric treatment centers in Nigeria and other developing ***** (Kemp). The introduction ***** pharmacological *****s during the 1960s also accelerated this process as well as the effectiveness of ***** treatment provided (*****). These tr*****s resulted in many Nigerians