ABSTRACT

Mental disorders are widely recognized as a major contributor (14%) to the global burden of disease worldwide. In Uganda only ten mental health units are available at regional level to treat 11,500, 000 mentally ill persons out of a population of 33, 000,000 and are manned by unqualified staff and poorly stocked with required medicines rendering them as good as useless. To assess knowledge, attitude and practices about the care of the mentally ill persons, a descriptive cross-sectional study design quantitative in nature was used. Purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to recruit 79 respondents for the study. Out of whom 79 questionnaires were returned completely filled giving a response rate of 100%. 68% of the respondents strongly agreed that limited knowledge about the cause of mental illness affects the care of mentally ill persons, 69.6% of the respondents strongly agreed that mentally ill persons should be secluded from others and 65% of the respondents strongly agreed that mentally ill persons could be treated by thrusting limbs in the fire. The researcher concluded that there was limited knowledge about home-based care of mentally ill persons as it was influenced by knowledge of the cause of mental illness hence treatment was sought from traditional healers and religious groups. Attitudes about the care of mentally ill persons were equally not good as mentally ill persons were viewed as a disgrace, dangerous and infectious. Practices about the care of mentally ill persons were equally not promising as mentally ill patients were always restrained by tied with ropes, thrusting feet in fire and mostly managed by herbalists.