The College of Pharmacy discussed the MSc thesis entitled “Factors Influencing Help-Seeking Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Mental Health Services in Iraq” by the student Zaid Sabti Jumaah and his supervisor, Assistant Professor Dr. Ali Azeez Ali, at the Clinical Pharmacy department. The study aimed to look at the factors and challenges facing mental health services from the perspective of the general population and psychiatrists, and how these factors influence help-seeking behaviors in relation to mental health. This qualitative study included conducting interviews with 10 psychiatrists and 30 people from the general public. The researcher used the method of thematic analysis of the participants’ answers and concluded that social stigma is the biggest and most prominent challenge, according to the opinions of psychiatrists and the general public alike. In addition, other factors such as lack of trust and privacy in public institutions from the point of view of the general public, the lack of fund allocations for mental health, the small number of doctors, and the scarcity of medications from the point of view of psychiatrists were all factors that negatively affected the process of seeking help with regard to mental health in Iraq.
