Institutional Leadership Commitment and Eradication of Mental Illness Stigmatization among Students of Kenya Medical Training College
Main Article Content
Abstract
Leadership is the main driver of organizational behavior and how people relate in an organization. Through the commitment of institutional leaders to a given culture and way of doing things, the entire organization community is possible to follow the direction the leaders shows. While mental illness has been a major threat to the stability of modern society, the focus has mainly been drawn on treatment, while other affecting factors such as stigmatization not being given the adequate attention. Stigmatization of mentally ill persons is a behavior that requires intensive management by the organizational leaders for it to be contained. Leaders influence behavior, thus their commitment to eradicate mental illness stigmatization would be fundamental in curbing mental illness stigmatization. With inadequate literature on the role played by leadership commitment in curbing mental illness stigmatization, this study seeks to assess the role of institutional leadership on mental illness stigmatization. The study used a descriptive research approach and a questionnaire to collect data from 384 students drawn from a population of 51045 students at the college. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics through SPSS. The findings revealed that the commitment of institutional leadership in curbing mental illness stigmatization was essential in reducing stigmatization of mentally ill persons. The study concluded that through the commitment of leaders by training and creating awareness was significant in curbing mental illness stigmatization. It is recommended that the institutional leaders have a duty to play in curbing mental illness stigmatization through creation of awareness, training of the students and providing psychosocial support to mentally-ill persons.
Article Details
References
Arboleda-Flórez, J., & Stuart, H. (2012). From sin to science: fighting the stigmatization of mental illnesses. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 57(8), 457-463.
Audu, A. A., Idris, S. H., Olisah, V. O., & Sheikh, T. L. (2013). Stigmatization of people with mental illness among inhabitants of rural community in Northern Nigeria. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 59(1), 55-60.
Auerbach, R. P., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., ... & Murray, E. (2018). WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Project: Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders. Journal of abnormal psychology, 127(7), 623.
Bikos, L. J. (2021). “It's all window dressing:” Canadian police officers' perceptions of mental health stigma in their workplace. Policing: An International Journal, 44(1), 63-76.
Dachew, B. A., Bisetegn, T. A., & Gebremariam, R. B. (2015). Prevalence of mental distress and associated factors among undergraduate students of University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional institutional based study. Plos one, 10(3), e0119464.
Davidovitz, R., Mikulincer, M., Shaver, P. R., Izsak, R., & Popper, M. (2007). Leaders as attachment figures: Leaders' attachment orientations predict leadership-related mental representations and followers' performance and mental health. Journal of Personality and social Psychology, 93(4), 632.
DeMars, A., & Wright, M. (2018). Mental Illness Stigmas. Mental Illness.
Dessie, Y., Ebrahim, J., & Awoke, T. (2013). Mental distress among university students in Ethiopia: a cross sectional survey. Pan African Medical Journal, 15(1).
Dimoff, J. K., & Kelloway, E. K. (2019). With a little help from my boss: The impact of workplace mental health training on leader behaviors and employee resource utilization. Journal of occupational health psychology, 24(1), 4.
Elliott, I. B. J., Chakkalackal, L., Purcell, M., Graham, C., & Chandra, A. (2015). Fundamental facts about mental health. The Mental Health Foundation, London.
experience and stigmatization. Issues in mental health nursing, 38(3), 193-201.
Follmer, K. B., & Jones, K. S. (2018). Mental illness in the workplace: An interdisciplinary review and organizational research agenda. Journal of Management, 44(1), 325-351.
Health, T. L. G. (2020). Mental health matters. The Lancet. Global Health, 8(11), e1352.
Hoffner, C. A., Fujioka, Y., Cohen, E. L., & Atwell Seate, A. (2017). Perceived media influence, mental illness, and responses to news coverage of a mass shooting. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 6(2), 159.
Ishaku, U. G., Terao, T., Takai, J., Karuri, G. S., & Matsumoto, M. (2018). Comparing loneliness and mental health status of college students in Nigeria and Japan. IFE PsychologIA: An International Journal, 26(1), 279-297.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. (2011). Silenced Minds: The Systematic Neglect on the Mental Health Systems in Kenya, Nairobi, and Author
Li, J., Liang, W., Yuan, B., & Zeng, G. (2020). Internalized stigmatization, social support, and individual mental health problems in the public health crisis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4507.
Lipson, S. K., Lattie, E. G., & Eisenberg, D. (2019). Increased rates of mental health service utilization by US college students: 10-year population-level trends (2007–2017). Psychiatric services, 70(1), 60-63.
Ministry of Health. (2015). Kenya mental health policy 2015–2030. 2015. https ://publi catio ns.unive rsalh ealth 2030.org/uploads/Kenya -Menta l-Healt h-Policy.pdf. Accessed 30 Apr 2020
Mirbahaeddin, E., & Chreim, S. (2022). A narrative review of factors influencing peer support role implementation in mental health systems: implications for research, policy and practice. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 49(4), 596-612.
Mumtaz, M. (2020). COVID-19 and mental health challenges in Pakistan. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 0020764020954487.
Oswalt, S. B., Lederer, A. M., Chestnut-Steich, K., Day, C., Halbritter, A., & Ortiz, D. (2020). Trends in college students’ mental health diagnoses and utilization of services, 2009–2015. Journal of American college health, 68(1), 41-51.
Röhm, A., Hastall, M. R., & Ritterfeld, U. (2017). How movies shape Students' attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia: an exploration of the relationships between entertainment experience and stigmatization. Issues in mental health nursing, 38(3), 193-201.
Rössler, W. (2016). The stigma of mental disorders: A millennia‐long history of social exclusion and prejudices. EMBO reports, 17(9), 1250-1253.
Sadagheyani, H. E., & Tatari, F. (2020). Investigating the role of social media on mental health. Mental Health and Social Inclusion.
Søvold, L. E., Naslund, J. A., Kousoulis, A. A., Saxena, S., Qoronfleh, M. W., Grobler, C., & Münter, L. (2021). Prioritizing the mental health and well-being of healthcare workers: an urgent global public health priority. Frontiers in public health, 9, 679397.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, (2019). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. PEP19-5068, NSDUH Series H-54).
Trautmann, S., Rehm, J., & Wittchen, H. U. (2016). The economic costs of mental disorders: Do our societies react appropriately to the burden of mental disorders?. EMBO reports, 17(9), 1245-1249.
World Health Organization (2015). Mental health atlas 2014. Switzerland: WHO.
World Health Organization. (2010). Strengthening our response.
World Health Organization. (2011). WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2011: warning about the dangers of tobacco. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Zhu, Y., Zhang, H., Yang, G., Hu, X., Liu, Z., Guo, N., ... & Rosenheck, R. (2018). Attitudes towards mental illness among medical students in China: Impact of medical education on stigma. Asia‐Pacific Psychiatry, 10(2), e12294.