Indigenous Knowledge and Perception Toward Mental Illnesses Within Goma City in Democratic Republic of Congo

Background: Prevailing wars for more than two decades have been associated with the increased burden of mental illnesses (MIs) in North-Kivu province (NKP), in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The community perception of this claim has, however, not been fully documented. Aims: To assess the knowledge and perception of Goma city residents on MI and their associated factors. Methods: Cross sectional study, was conducted among 610 selected community residents including key informants of Goma city from April to July 2021. Quantitative data from semi-structured interviews was analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression, while data from Focus group discussions (FGDs) were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Results: Among residents of Goma city, rates of correct recognition of MIs namely schizophrenia, anxiety, depression and neurodevelopment disorders varied: 96.6%, 29.7%, 39.5% and 14.3%, respectively. The major causes of MIs perceived by respondents were spiritual (67.5%) and substance abuse (56.7%). Qualitative data from FGD’s revealed three major themes for poor perception of MI among residents as indigenous names of various MIs, reason of preferring traditional medicine versus conventional medicine (CM) and challenges faced in management of MIs using CM. Furthermore, demographic factors such as education, religion, occupation and age were not statistically significant (p˃0.05) in predicting one’s odds of MI perception among Goma city residents. Conclusion: The findings revealed that residents of Goma city have poor knowledge and perception on MIs regardless of education, religion, occupation and age.