Eliciting explanatory models of common mental disorders using the Short Explanatory Model Interview (SEMI) Urdu...

The purpose of this pilot study was to describe the presenting symptoms and its explanation from the patients' perspective of GHQ (General Health Questionnaire) positive cases attending primary care facility/a general practice in semiurban Lahore. Fifteen consecutive attenders were screened with GHQ and 11 GHQ positive cases went on to complete an adapted questionnaire derived from SEMI (Short Explanatory Model Interview). Though there was no consistency in the presenting symptoms of GHQ positive cases on presentation to a general practitioner, all described their problems as intense, less than 2 years on onset and on reflection located its origins in their social worlds. These findings have implications in terms of providing preliminary data for a larger study, perhaps looking at development of psychosocial interventions for treatment of mental distress in our local context as it seems to have its origins in their social worlds.