The study aims to appraise the knowledge and attitude towards depression among women of reproductive
age in Akure South Local Government area of Ondo State, South Western Nigeria. The study relied on
Health belief theory as a theoretical fulcrum to explain health-related behaviour with respect to health
intervention. A descriptive cross-sectional study was adopted for the quantitative appraisal. The sample
consists of a hundred and nine (109) women of reproductive age (18-49 years) residing in Akure South Local
Government Area. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the informants from the population
sample. Secondary sources like journals, WHO documents, publications, and relevant internet materials
were utilized for information, while primary data were collected using the self-structured questionnaire.
Both descriptive and inferential statistics (chi-square) were employed for data analysis via statistical package
for the social sciences (SPSS). The results of the study revealed that the majority of the respondents have
good knowledge about clinical depression: 63.6% agreed that depression is caused by biological change in the
brain and 77.1% agreed that it can be treated by psychiatrists. The study also showed that majority of the
respondents have positive attitude toward depression; 91.7% disagreed that person suffering from depression
should keep as a secret while 73.4% agreed that people suffering from depression should always be in the
midst of the people. The result of the hypothesis testing between knowledge of clinical depression and
education status revealed a significant association between the two variables (x2 = 44.3. p <. 000).
Conclusively, despite the good knowledge and positive attitude of woman of reproductive age in AKSLGA,
the rate of incidence of depression is high. The study, therefore, recommended that government should
strengthen the various mental health units in government-owned hospitals with a view to providing
adequate counselling and psychotherapy services while NGOs should intensify awareness campaigns in
order to reduce the high incidence of depression among the populace.