Stigma barriers of mental health in Iran: A qualitative study by stakeholders of mental health.

Background: Many people who accesses mental health services usually do not seek treatment to avoid the consequences of stigma and label of mental illness. Determining each of these aspects related to stigma reduction barriers seems necessarily. Objective: A qualitative study was undertaken to investigate stigma reduction barriers toward mental disorders in Iran. Methodology: The present study used content analysis and was carried out from 2013 to 2015. All stakeholders have been chosen by purposive sampling technique. All data obtained through 16 individual interviews, 2 focus groups and 6 written narratives. The data were collected, coded and analyzed accordingly.  Results: The major themes were: The universality of stigma, Beliefs, Attitudes and lack of awareness, Mental health providers and other specialists, Cultural barriers, Structures and policy makers, Insufficient financial resources.   Conclusion: It is necessarily to identify the barriers of stigma reduction programs in Iran to increase the quality of life of mental patients. In the present study due to the presence of mental health stakeholders the main barriers have been obtained