| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Mental health is an important issue, which is often underestimated within health aspects in low- and middle-income countries, including Tanzania. Tanzania faces challenges related to a lack of knowledge about mental health and access to health services. Caregivers, who are often family members, thus play a crucial role in supporting and caring for people with mental illness within the local community.
Objectives: The main objective was to form an understanding and knowledge of how mental health is understood among caregivers in Tanzania, as well as their experiences taking care of people suffering from mental disorders.
Method: The study's method is focused ethnography. By using semi-structured interviews of 12 caregivers and an inductive content analysis approach, gave an insight into caregivers’ perspectives and experiences.
Results: The study resulted in three main categories (1) Caregivers' understanding of mental health. (2) Challenges caregivers face, and (3) Seeking for help and motivation.
Conclusion: Caregivers had different causal explanations for mental disorders that resulted in different understandings of mental health. While in common there was a basic understanding that mental illnesses are similar to other diseases that can thus be treated in the hospital. Through care, caregivers experienced violence, little understanding of the needs of the mentally ill, little support and challenges in access to resources. This led to the sought out of prayer, traditional healers, witchcraft and medicines as a method of treatment.
Keywords: Mental illness, caregivers, understanding, experiences, challenges, Tanzania | |