Prevalence of severe mental distress and its correlates in a population-based study in rural south-west Uganda

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Kathy Baisley¹  Eugene Kinyanda²  Laban Waswa²  Dermot Maher³ 

[1] Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK;Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute (MRC/UVRI) Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda;Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute (MRC/UVRI) Uganda Research Unit on AIDS, Entebbe, Uganda;Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK;

关键词: Mental Health Care;    Severe Mental Illness;    Traditional Healer;    High Risk Sexual Behavior;    Formal Health Care;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-11-97

 received in 2011-03-12, accepted in 2011-06-08,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe problem of severe mental distress (SMD) in sub-Saharan Africa is difficult to investigate given that a substantial proportion of patients with SMD never access formal health care.This study set out to investigate SMD and it's associated factors in a rural population-based cohort in south-west Uganda.Methods6,663 respondents aged 13 years and above in a general population cohort in southwestern Uganda were screened for probable SMD and possible associated factors.Results0.9% screened positive for probable SMD. The factors significantly associated with SMD included older age, male sex, low socio-economic status, being a current smoker, having multiple or no sexual partners in the past year, reported epilepsy and consulting a traditional healer.ConclusionSMD in this study was associated with both socio-demographic and behavioural factors. The association between SMD and high risk sexual behaviour calls for the integration of HIV prevention in mental health care programmes in high HIV prevalence settings.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Kinyanda et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011