REASONS FOR DELAY IN SEEKING PROFESSIONAL CARE FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN LAHORE

Aims: Pakistan has a literacy rate of 58%. Mental health issues are widely stigmatized and are thought to be caused by supernatural causes. There is social disapproval of mentally ill individuals which leads to issues regarding marriage & divorce. This research was conducted to find reasons as to why people delay in seeking professional care for their mental health issues and the duration of delay present. Methodology: The cross-sectional study on 50 patients was conducted in three hospitals with mental health care centers accessible to both rural and urban population. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used to select the study sample. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. The completed questionnaire data was entered into computer for data analysis on SPSS-23. Results: The results showed that the duration of delay ranged from one month till six years. Not considering mental health issues as a problem was the most common reason for delay. The number of female participants were greater than male participants. Conclusion: Our study concluded that main reason for delay in seeking professional care was never considering their mental health state a problem. The largest time gap between onset of symptoms and seeking help was of six years. Keywords: Delay in treatment, mental health care, depression