Perspectives

Stigma towards people living with men-tal health problems is often the result of deep-rooted fears about irrational behaviour or loss of control.1 When we conducted a study of recruitment and retention factors for staff in Ghanaian psychiatric hospitals, we found that the stigma was directed towards mental health professionals too. Some of our respondents linked the pervasive stigma of mental health to perceptions that patients with mental disorders could be aggressive or violent. We used a semi-structured discussion guide with follow-up prompts in face-to-face interview