The authors present a first report of their attempt to develop a community oriented mental health programme. The programme which was preceded by a survey of the attitudes of some opinion leaders in the community of the rural town of Igbo-Ora, Nigeria, was followed by a community mental health education and a record of the effect on the attitude of the opinion leaders. The mental health education was immediately followed by the introduction of a psychiatric clinic at the rural health centre. The paper reports on a fifteen-month neuropsychiatric intake at the clinic and presents some case illustrations to emphasise the impact this sort of programme could have on preventive mental health care.
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