AI Offers Therapy to Mental Healthcare Sufferers in Nigeria
Originally published in The Yuan on March 10, 2022. Republished here by the author. Read the archived original.
According to the World Health Organization, mental health is "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community."
One person's mental health is influenced by social, psychological, and biological factors. One study in 2017 estimated that 13 percent of the world's population suffered from mental health disorders: a total of 970 million people. Despite these numbers, negative stereotypes and stigma still exist around mental health issues.
Mental health cases are complicated, vary between people who may present similar symptoms and take a variety of forms. Common forms of mental health illnesses include depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized a number of industries, from transportation to education to financial technology and many, many others. AI has been instrumental in the healthcare industry and played a major role in helping researchers to better understand and predict mental illness. It is important to consider how this could help Nigerians better access mental health services.
Mental Healthcare in Nigeria
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, 20 to 30 percent of Nigerians suffer from mental illnesses and less than 10 percent of those battling with mental illness have access to mental healthcare. This forces people to turn to self-medication, self-diagnosis, and denial of their symptoms. It is little wonder Nigeria was ranked as the most depressed country in Africa in 2017.
Nigeria's emotional well-being, or lack of it, is deep-rooted. The nation's first mental health legislation, the 'Lunacy Ordinance' was enacted in 1916, revised in 1958, but hasn't been updated since. A 'Mental Health Bill' was introduced in 2003 by the Nigerian National Assembly but then dropped in 2009. Four years later, a new bill was introduced as a part of the National Policy for Mental Health Services Delivery. This bill aimed to establish a foundation for delivering care to people with mental, neurological, and substance addiction difficulties. Yet, even now, all these expectations are yet to be realized.
Mental health is something that remains misunderstood globally and Nigeria is no exception. It's difficult to speak out about mental health illness in the country because of the stereotypes attached to it and this equals institutional neglect. Not only that, but old traditions and superstitions die hard and don't help those with mental well-being because many people still believe it is caused by evil spirits, witchcraft, demon possession, and sometimes divine punishment.
How Technology Affects Mental Health
Addiction to technology is another cause which can add to negative psychological effects on the nation's people. Another 2017 study revealed that young adults between the ages of 19 and 32 were more likely to feel socially isolated than their counterparts who don't use technology as often. Some 104.4 million people of its 206.1 million population have access to the Internet in Nigeria, and it is important for one to consider how the World Wide Web is affecting its people, especially its youth.
Research from 2016 found a link between social media and mental health issues, and discovered some mixed results, both good and bad results from social interactions. The negative social interactions saw a large demographic of people susceptible to increased levels of depression, anxiety, and engaged in social comparison. This can be an overpowering cause of deep and dangerous stress which can induce rumination - the focused attention on the symptoms of one's distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions - and may result in self-destructive behaviors.
Technology has impacted the human experience in a number of positive ways, but it also has an adverse impact on mental health, with many addicted to the Internet. There may be, e.g., a link between social media use and mental illness which is mostly driven by AI-enhanced recommendation systems.
Nigeria is a country with a large youth population, and it is important to take into consideration their mental health. With social comparison in the way, this mounts a lot of pressure on users, which may result in mental illness and other dangerous social media trends.
Technology aside, Nigeria suffers from a number of other destructive social factors, such as steadily rising unemployment, insecurity, a weakening economy, and corruption. The country is a victim of drug and substance abuse, with 14.4 percent of Nigerians engaged in narcotic abuse, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
How AI Can Help
AI has shown itself useful in the detection of symptoms associated with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other behavioral conditions. AI could be used to produce cures as well. Some clinicians are skeptical about the use of AI in mental healthcare, but people can emotionally connect with technology. There is clear evidence that patients connect well with robots, treating them as living beings. There are many mental health patients who even prefer a robot therapist to a human as they perceive the robot to be less judgmental.
Chatbots have been introduced to the mental health sector, and the AI application is growing in popularity with patients. The chatbots mimic conversations with a real person with the help of AI through texts and instant messages. The chatbots aren't perfect but they are a great help.
AI may not be able to replace therapists but the AI-powered chatbots are useful in providing support by helping users walk through their thoughts, and suggest tools and resources, such as mood tracking tools, and mindfulness techniques.
Although chatbots won't replace therapists at this time, they will make access to mental health management tools accessible and affordable to a wide population and may reduce the stigma attached to gaining access to therapy.
Conclusion
Although AI plays a role in affecting mental health negatively, mostly from recommendation engines that keep users hooked to content, it can be positive, and it is important to recognize how it will help mental healthcare practitioners in their research, improve diagnoses, and potentially provide cures. Not only that, if Nigeria's large number of smartphone and Internet users could benefit from cheaper and more easily accessible tools, such as therapy bots and virtual mental health apps, the nation's mental health problems could be eased.
