Background: The burden of depression as a mental disorder has continued to increase and constituting an enormous public health concern among all age groups. A number of socio-demographic, and other factors including a stressful and rigorous academic programme or curriculum such as the one run in most medical schools could contribute to the occurrence of depression among medical students. AIM: To determine the socio-demographic and other factors associated with depression among medical students in the University of Port Harcourt. Methodology: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Appropriate sample size was calculated and the stratified random sampling method was used to select the subjects. A well-structured open ended self-administered socio-demographic questionnaire was administered to the students. The Zung Self-Rated Depression Scale was used to assess the depression status of each respondent. The data were analyzed via descriptive and analytical methods. Results: The prevalence of depression among the medical students was 5.3%. Fourteen students (4.6%) were mildly depressed while only two respondents had moderate depression. Year 3 had the highest prevalence with 10.5% followed by final year with 5.3%, while the only 2 cases of moderate depression were found among students in year 2 of their medical programme. Two hundred and seventy-one respondents (88.8%) were found to have good knowledge of depression, 32 (10.5%) were found to have average knowledge of depression and 2(0.7%) had poor knowledge of depression. Conclusion: Depression does occur among medical students at the University of Port Harcourt albeit low, and was associated with a number of socio-demographic and other factors. The present medical curriculum and programme should be sustained and more efforts at making it less stressful and academically friendly, be made to further reduce the current rate of psychological stress and depression among the students.
Background: Suicide has been recognized as one of the commonest causes of death globally and mental disorders have been found to contribute about 70% to 80% of causes of suicide. A number of factors can predict or increase the risk of suicide among those who have mental illnesses. Aim: This study aimed to look at the factors influencing suicide behavior among mentally ill patients at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among attendees of Neuropsychiatric Outpatient Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. A structured questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics and other factors were self-administered to 75 patients diagnosed with various psychiatric disorders by consultants Psychiatrists and attending the out-patient clinic via a systematic random sampling. Ethical approval was obtained from the ethical committee of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and all other ethical provisions were followed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. p value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Majority of the respondents were male (81%), single (76.0%), unemployed (36.0%), low income earners (73.4%) and between the ages of 21 and 30 (44%). Majority had tertiary education (58.7%) followed by respondents with secondary education (33.3%). Those who were dissatisfied with life due to mental illness constituted 34.9% while those who were dissatisfied with living were 22.5%. Nineteen (25.3%) of the respondents has had suicidal thoughts while 7(9.3%) had attempted suicide. Major determinant of the suicide behavior were stigmatization from mental illness, advice childhood experience, job loss, substance abuse, history of assault and poor premorbid personality. There was a statistically significant association between suicidal behavior and stigma as well as childhood or family history (χ2 = 3.828, p = 0.05; χ2 = 6.334, p = 0.042), but association between suicidal behavior and drug use, sexual assaults, job loss and query respectively was not statistically significant (χ2 = 0.456, p = 0.5; χ2 = 3.111, p = 0.078; χ2 = 6.921, p = 0.009; χ2 = 0.009, p = 0.922). Conclusion: Suicide behavior was common among those with mental illness and unemployment, substance abuse, male gender, higher level of education, stigmatization, poor premorbid history, adverse childhood experience are among the factors that could affect suicide behavior. Association exits between suicide behavior and drug use, stigma, childhood or family history, sexual assaults, job loss, and query etc. It is, therefore, important to provide adequate attention and care to the mentally ill to help reduce the prevalence of suicidal behavior among them.
Background: In the twenty-first century, female adolescents’ use of intravenous psychoactive substances has become widespread worldwide. For instance, statistics show that 155 and 250 million people between the ages of 15-64 used intravenous psychoactive drugs as of 2008. Examples of intravenous psychoactive drugs taken by people with 15-64 include; Amphetamines, non-prescribed psychoactive prescription drugs, cannabis, cocaine, and opiates. As a result of the preceding, the use of intravenous psychoactive drugs among Female adolescents is a common phenomenon in the 21st century. Aim: To undergo a systematic review on IV psychoactive drugs use, prevalence, causes and effects among adolescent females. Design: A systematic review. Data Sources: Systematic search for worldwide published literature from databases like google scholar, Emerald, PubMed, and science-direct. Study Eligibility Criteria: Articles that are published in English, primary research and studies published within the last 10 (ten) years (2013-2023). Results: From the 2000 published papers that was found, 1700 publications were screened out owing to duplicate data. In addition, 60 publications were eliminated because they did not have appropriate information for this current study, and 200 papers were eliminated because of erroneous information. For being overly shallow, 29 publications were ignored. In the end, this study included 11 (eleven) publications. Conclusion: Worldwide, there is a high prevalence of female adolescents using intravenous psychoactive drugs. The causes include feelings of helplessness following family separation, poor academic performance, a physical environment, prior substance use, recreational alternatives, socialisation issues, and inadequate organisational support. Cardiovascular illness, psychological diseases like anxiety, dependency, mood, and psychosis disorders, as well as various Hormonal Contraceptives, are all consequences of intravenous psychoactive drug use among female teenagers (HC). According to this study, more Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), family counselling, and cognitive-behavioural therapy should be used to free female adolescents from the shackles of intravenous psychoactive substance use.
Background: Mental illness is a serious condition of public health concern. It affects people of all ages with different clinical presentations, and usually affects the overall functioning of the individuals Aim: This study determined the pattern of psychiatric presentation among a population of mentally ill patients at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among attendees of Neuropsychiatric Outpatient Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). A structured questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics and other factors were self-administered to 75 patients diagnosed with various psychiatric disorders via a systematic random sampling technique. Ethical approval was obtained from the ethical committee of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data and expressed in frequency tables. Results: Majority of the mentally ill patients were male (81%), single (76.0%), and between the ages of 21 and 30 (44%). The most common psychiatric presentation include depression 19(25.3%), followed by anxiety disorder 16(21.3%), BAD 12(16.0%), substance misuse 9(12.0%), schizophrenia 11(14.7%), sleep 1(1.3%), and personality disorder 1(1.3%). The duration of treatment of mental illness was majorly within the last 5 years with the highest percentage representation (34.7%). Conclusion: Psychiatric presentations among the mentally ill exits in different forms. Depression is the most prevalent mental disorder among those studied. More medical, social and financial support should be given to the mentally ill as most of them have very high chances of developing depression.
Background: HIV positivity and stigmatization among the mentally ill appears to be a complex subject of discuss among researchers. The prevalence of HIV among the mentally ill appears to be higher in some population and lower in others with varying patterns of stigmatization. Aim: This study determined the prevalence of HIV positivity and pattern of stigmatization among a population of mentally ill patients attending the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among attendees of Neuropsychiatric Outpatient Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. A structured questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics and other factors were self-administered to 75 mentally ill patients attending the out-patient clinic following ethical clearance. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. Results: Majority of the respondents were male (81%), single (76.0%), and between the ages of 21 and 30 (44%). Majority (86.7%) had knowledge about HIV counseling and testing while those with no knowledge about HIV counseling and testing constituted 9.3%. Majority (76%) tested for HIV, while a minority (17.3%) did not. Within the last two years, majority (52%) had tested for HIV. Majority (25.3%) felt normal, 5.3% sad, while 1.3% felt very sad on learning about their HIV-positive status. HIV positive individuals, who have not been stigmatized because of their status constituted the majority (32%), while those that have been stigmatized constituted 4.0%. Conclusion: Majority of the mentally ill patients had knowledge about HIV counseling and testing, got tested, felt normal on learning about their HIV positive status, and were not stigmatized because of their status.
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