Tijdschr Psychiatr. 2024;66(9):516-521.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Worldwide there is an imbalance in the need for mental help for young people versus actually receiving this help. This has been researched in western countries, it has not been well researched in developing countries.
OBJECTIVE: To gain insight into the (specific) barriers and facilitators among young people seeking help in Suriname.
METHOD: In-depth interviews were conducted with young people in Paramaribo, Suriname. This was followed by a thematic analysis and barriers and facilitators were described.
RESULTS: A heterogeneous group of 19 young people were included. Four themes related to barriers are: stigma and cultural beliefs, Mental Health Literacy (MHL), access to care and language comprehension. Facilitators can be distinguished as a theme: accessible information and openness of family.
CONCLUSION: MHL, stigma and access to care were also identified as barriers in this study. What is new in this study is that although Dutch is the official language of the Surinamese population, language comprehension plays a major role in seeking help. This barrier appears to be related to the socioeconomic status of the young person. Young people also mentioned a fear of western based help and medication. Fear of negative reactions from the environment appeared to be partly based on actually experienced negatieve reaction and prejudices. A common belief was that mental health care was intended only for serious psychiatric problems and that young people therefore regarded their problems as unimportant or not serious enough. Facilitating were help and openness of family and accessible information.
PMID:39749612
