Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41969228›Full record

ArticleBJPsych open2026

'Since people who have mental illness are stigmatised, their service is also stigmatised. You get a massive hospital building and there is no mental health facility': exploring perceptions of mental health, stigma of mental illness, care-seeking and service use in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia.

Nasir Warfa, Charlotte Hanlon, Elyas Abdulahi, Mohamed Abdi Wali, Abdifetah Abdullahi Sheikh, Medhin Selamu, Mussie Abdosh Hassen, Fowsia Abdulkadir Hashi, Abdulahi Hussein, Bashir Abdulahi and 6 more

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Article in BJPsych open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Nasir WarfaInstitute of Health Science, https://ror.org/033v2cg93Jigjiga University, Ethiopia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5004-2230
Charlotte HanlonCentre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, UK.
Elyas AbdulahiResearch and Community Services, Jigjiga University, Ethiopia.
Mohamed Abdi WaliDepartment of Research, Publication and Ethics, Research Ethics Committee, University of Kabridahar, Ethiopia.
Abdifetah Abdullahi SheikhEpidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Health Science, University of Kabridahar, Ethiopia.
Medhin SelamuWorld Health Organization, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Mussie Abdosh HassenDisease Prevention and Disease Control, Somali Region State Health Bureau, Jigjiga, Ethiopia.
Fowsia Abdulkadir HashiCommission for Human Rights, Jigjiga, Ethiopia.
Abdulahi HusseinHealth Science, Jigjiga University, Ethiopia.
Bashir AbdulahiCollege of Business, Department of Management, Jigjiga University, Ethiopia.
Ahmed M AbdinasirAdministration and Business Department, Kebridahar University, Ethiopia.
Abdikarim M AbdiFaculty of Pharmacy, Yeditepe University, Türkiye.
Mustafa al'AbsiBehavioral Medicine Laboratories, University of Minnesota Medical School - Duluth Campus, Minnesota, USA.
Roxanne KeynejadHealth Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4434-3526
Solomon TeferraDepartment of Psychiatry, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Chris WillottDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere are few mental health services in the Somali Regional State (SRS) of Ethiopia, and many people with mental health conditions turn to traditional healing. Also, little is known about perspectives on mental ill health and care in this sociocultural context.

aimsThe study explores the experiences and manifestations of mental health-related stigma in the SRS, to inform the development of mental healthcare systems.

methodWe conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with health workers, aspirational leaders, users of mental health services and carers in Jigjiga and Kabridahar, two cities in the SRS, between April and July 2024. Translated transcripts were imported into NVIVO version 14 for coding and were then analysed using the thematic analysis method. We identified three main themes: (a) mental health stigma, (b) societal neglect and (c) misunderstanding of mental ill health.

resultsParticipants suggested that most people in the SRS view mental health in binary terms, in which a person is either 'mad' or sane; a corollary is that only severe conditions with overt behavioural manifestations were viewed as mental illness. Most people viewed mental health conditions as having spiritual causes. Mental health stigma was reportedly widespread and severe. These barriers contribute to care-seeking that is delayed and initially focused on faith-based providers.

conclusionsAny intervention to improve the provision of mental health services and the development of mental health systems must take into account the perspectives of service users and carers, and address the widespread stigma and lack of knowledge around mental illness.

Indexed as

mental health servicesreligious and traditional treatmentSomali cultural diagnosis of mental illnessStigma of mental illnesstranscultural psychiatry

Identifiers

PMID41969228
PMCPMC13107296

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.