Table 3 Synthesis of responses across all focus groups

Causes

●Physical damage to the brain, terminal physical illness

●Witchcraft (curses, ancestral spirits)

●Family and relationship struggles, domestic violence

●Stress, poverty, poor living conditions, alcohol/drug abuse

Signs and Symptoms

●Confusion and abnormal behavior: hallucinations, wandering far from home, disconnection from reality, running/walking around naked, eating from the trash, talking nonsense, restlessness

●Violent behavior: raping children, destruction of property, throwing stones at and beating others

●Physical changes: loss of appetite, headache, blurred vision, tearing eyes, nystagmus

Treatment

●Hospitals and modern medicine, prayer, and traditional healers are all valid initial treatments

●If the mental illness was caused by witchcraft, modern medicine will not be able to cure it, only traditional medicine will be effective

●Religion is recommended to people who are struggling with mental illness as a form of counseling

●Treatment for mental illness should include counseling and community support

Post-Treatment

●It is possible for people to recover fully from mental illnesses and return to their roles in society

●If treatment fails, people with mental illnesses should be tied up with rope/chains until death for the safety of themselves and others

●There should be a rehabilitation or isolation center (a protected place) where people can go if they remain untreated

General Comments

●Mental illness isn’t very common in our communities

●We are afraid of those with mental illnesses, even though not all are violent; we don’t want them as our neighbors; we don’t want to work with them

●Those with mental illness

○cannot work in regular jobs and shouldn’t be given responsibilities

○are a burden on society

○are dangerous because of violent behavior

●We as a community have a responsibility to care for people with mental illnesses; they deserve our sympathy

●We need to be more tolerant of those with mental illnesses