Depression is more than a stigma

Canberra, Philadelphia and Manchester: Depression is often distinguished from other noncommunicable diseases or NCDs (e.g., cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension) because of the stigma attached to it. Among other consequences, those suffering from depression are often denied access to medical care. Indeed, the latter is an outcome of interaction between supply of and demand for medical care. On the provider side, stigmatizing attitudes by service providers are identified as a barrier to access. On the demand side, stigma and low mental health literacy by community members are just as emphatically reported as barriers to accessing care.

But there are striking similarities between depression and other NCDs too. There are strong inter-relationships between them (e.g., between depression and cancer, depression and diabetes, depression and strokes).