“Once mad is always mad”: Mental Health Service Users’ Experience in the Nigeria Labour Market

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue I, January 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

“Once mad is always mad”:Mental Health Service Users’ Experience in the Nigeria Labour Market

Felicia O., Owadara
Faculty of Social Work, Fort Garry, University of Manitoba
66 Vice Chancellor Road, R3T 2N2. Winnipeg, Manitoba

Abstract:-Background: The dearth of literature on the labour market experience of Mental Health Service Users in Nigeria signifies the dire need to explore service users’ perspectives on issues of employment.
Objective: This study explores the Mental Health Service User’s experience on access to the Nigeria labour market.
Method: The study adopts an interpretive phenomenological analysis and conducts an unstructured interview method to investigate participants’ experiences and the sense they make out of their daily struggles in seeking employment. Data were thematically coded and supported by participant’s narratives.
Results: The findings generated two main themes with six additional subthemes: (1) The hindrance to the MHSU’s economic participation is linked to hostility and discrimination, and institutional factors (the lack of credible response in policy and practice). Also, (2). close networks remain significant for the group’s economic and social adjustment, but it is often not available for all in the labour market.
Conclusion: The paper increases our understanding of informal networks’ crucial role when navigating the labour market and shows that it may have severe implications in how policy functions. A more comprehensive study is needed to examine the nature of the informal support system that facilitates access to some and ostracizes others’ needs. Consideration should be given to the policy environment, the role and efficacy of the non-governmental agencies, and the family networks system to understand hindrances to the engagement of MHSU.

Keywords: Economic participation, Mental Health, Discrimination, Disclosure, Policy

1. Introduction

The notion of social justice and equity articulated in the Section [12], [17] and sub-section (1) of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 also reflects in the National Mental Health Policy (NMHP) of 2013. The NMHP emphasizes the material and social well-being of the Mental Health Service Users (MHSU) through economic participation and rejects discrimination at all levels. However, social acceptance continues to be a daily struggle for the group[11],[12]. Decades of studies have pointed to the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness as threats to the integration of the group[13],[46]. The severity of the disease (negative symptoms and cognitive impairment) as revealed in a comparative study between the United States and European countries44 impacts on peoples’ acceptance of MHSU. Besides, cultural orientation (values and beliefs) contributes to social distance and the reduced public response to the diseases[7],[12], [28]Contrarily, O’day[26] affirmed that the severity of mental illness, cognitive impairment affects MHSU ability. It stresses the importance of Individual Placement and Supported Employment (IPS) if well planned and funded can bridge the unemployment gap between the MHSU and the general population[14]. However, some MHSU’s unemployment are unrelated to the lack of skills or education; for example, 30.1% of the samples studied by Marwaha et al in Germany, France and the UK possessed post-secondary education and pointed to the local market structure and legal frameworks of the nation as crucial to the understanding problem associated with the employment of MHSU [20]. Similarly, in New Zealand, nine out of fifteen participants possessed post-secondary qualifications[34]. No data exists on affected population or the percentage of the group in the labour market in Nigeria[25]; however, about 21 million of the Nigerian population is estimated suffering from mental illness[16]. Additionally, work interventions are linked to the mental healthcare system which can only offer menial jobs[1], [7]. Empirical studies on the group participation in the labour market are scarce; available data merely treated it as demographic variables,[1],[24]besides, the dearth of knowledge in this area may also be considered as discrimination. Labour market participation is a fundamental right of all citizenry, and work integration is one of the crucial means of removing socially created barriers between the group and the public[22]. Discrimination increasingly imposed restrictions on MHSU even among their close family and the society at large[4][18]. European Mental health Alliance[9] raised a concern about the growing presenteeism and absenteeism and early retirement among MHSU. The incompatibility of several Nigerian policies in the manner it addresses mental diseases seems to

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