Stigma Barriers of Mental Health in Iran: A Qualitative Study by Stakeholders of Mental Health

Objective: Many people who access mental health services usually do not seek treatment to avoid the consequences of stigma and label of mental illness. Thus, determining each aspect related to stigma reduction barriers seems necessary. This qualitative study was conducted to investigate stigma reduction barriers towards mental disorders in Iran. Method: In this study that was conducted from 2013 to 2015, content analysis was used and all stakeholders were selected by purposive sampling technique. All data were obtained through 16 individual interviews, 2 focus groups, and 6 written narratives. The data were collected, coded, and analyzed accordingly . Results: The major themes were as follow: The universality of stigma, beliefs, attitudes and lack of awareness, mental health providers and other specialists, cultural barriers, structures and policymakers, and insufficient financial resources. Conclusion: It is necessarily to identify the barriers of stigma reduction programs in Iran to increase the quality of life of patients with mental disorders. In the present study, due to the presence of mental health stakeholders, the main barriers were obtained.