Mental disorders are highly prevalent and cause considerable suffering and disease burden. To compound this public
health problem, many individuals with psychiatric disorders remain untreated although effective treatments exist. We examine the
extent of this treatment gap. We reviewed community-based psychiatric epidemiology studies that used standardized diagnostic
Background: Lay beliefs about schizophrenia have been extensively studied in
cross-cultural settings, but research on ethnic differences are currently lacking.
Aims: This study examined beliefs about the manifestations, causes and cures of
schizophrenia in a multi-ethnic sample from Malaysia.