Mental Health Literacy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Knowledge about Mental Illnesses among Non-health Professionals in Ethiopia

Background and Objectives: Mental illnesses are alarmingly on the rise in both developed and developing countries. Knowledge is a core concept in mental health literacythat aids in recognizing, managing, and preventing mental illnesses. We aimed to systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis on mental illnessesknowledgeamong non-health professionals in Ethiopia.Materials and Methods: To identify eligible studies, PubMed/MEDLINE, Hinari, AJOL (African Journal Online), Scopus/Science Direct, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were systematically searched from October ۲۰۲۴ to December ۲۰۲۴.This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. All primary studies focusing on mental illnesses knowledge in Ethiopia were considered. The metaprop program on STATA v. ۱۸ was used to calculate the pooled level of mental illnesses knowledge using the random-effects meta-analysis model. A pooled magnitude of mental illnesses knowledge was presented on a forest plot with a ۹۵% CI.Results: The pooled level of knowledge about mental illnesses among non-health professionals in Ethiopia was ۵۶.۹۳%. Based on subgroup analysis, the knowledge of study participants about mental illnesses varies depending on the study’s region and period.Conclusion:The finding from this review indicates that a significant number of the population has inadequate knowledge about mental illnesses. Concerned bodies’ should emphasize activities like designing regionally tailored educational messages, increasing media engagement on mental health topics, and implementing community-based mental health interventionsto improve knowledge about mental illnesses.

کلیدواژه ها:

Mental Illnesses ، Knowledge ، Systematic review ، Meta Analysis andEthiopia