The Pathways to the First Contact with Mental Health Services among Patients with Schizophrenia in Lagos, Nigeria

Table 2

Pathways to care and reasons for choosing nonorthodox⁺ healers.

Variable	𝑛 (%)
Pathways to care
Spiritual	59 (42.8)
Traditional	16 (11.6)
GP/medical practitioner	19 (13.8)
Traditional and spiritual	20 (14.5)
Psychiatrist (our facility)	24 (17.4)
Reasons for choosing nonorthodox healers*
Belief that the illness is due to supernatural factors	81 (85.3)
Influence of relatives, neighbours, or significant; others	49 (51.6)
Stigma associated with illness	48 (50.5)
Ignorance about effectiveness of orthodox treatment	41 (43.2)
Lack of funds/poor access to orthodox care	33 (34.7)

GP: general practitioners.
*Total responses greater than 100% due to multiple responses.
+Nonorthodox refers to traditional or spiritual healers.