PATHWAYS TO MENTAL-HEALTH-CARE IN NIGERIA

A total of 238 patients who attended a mental health service in Ilorin , Nigeria, over a one-month period were interviewed to assess the rout es they took to psychiatric care. Ninety-five patients reported that t hey had first contacted traditional or religious healers when they bec ame mentally ill. Patients who contacted such healers included signifi cantly more males and Muslims and fewer patients with professional occ upations. Family members played important roles in patients' decisions about the type of practitioner to consult. The author suggests that u se of psychiatric care in developing countries could be improved by tr aining primary health care workers to give mental health education to the communities they serve.