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Health service utilization by patients with common mental disorder identified by the Self-Reporting Questionnaire in
Michael Udedi1, Leslie Swartz2, Robert C Stewart3
1Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa Clinical Psychiatry Department, Zomba Mental Hospital, Zomba, Malawi.
Background:
There has been no study carried out to assess health service utilization by people with common mental disorder (CMD) in Malawi.
Aim:
The aim of the study was to evaluate health service utilization patterns of patients with CMD in primary health care (PHC) clinics.
Methods:
The study was conducted in two PHC clinics in one of the 28 districts in Malawi. Face-to-face interviews with the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) were conducted in a sample of 323 PHC attendees aged 18 years and older who attended the PHC clinics for any reason.
Results:
The prevalence of probable CMD in the sample was 20.1%. People with probable CMD had a higher mean number of health facility visits in the previous three months compared to those without probable CMD (1.6 vs 1.19, p = .02).
Conclusion:
The study reveals high utilization of health services for people with CMD in the PHC setting. There is a need for PHC workers to improve skills in diagnosing patients with CMD to make PHC services more effective by reducing re-attendance and improving patient outcomes.
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