BackgroundIn Eritrea, highly centralized mental health care services and lack of trained psychiatric personnel at primary health care units remain a challenge to the mental health care system. These problems can be minimized by introducing screening programs with a simple screening tool for mental disorders in the primary health care settings. Thus, this study aimed to assess the validity of the WHO self-reporting questionnaire 20 (SRQ-20) in Tigrigna version for use in Eritrean primary health care setting.MethodsThe SRQ-20 was translated into a local language (Tigrinya) in a process of forward and backward translation. SRQ-20 data were collected in a primary health care setting on 266 respondents. Internal reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha. Factorial validity was done using principal component analysis with varimax rotation to investigate whether SRQ-20 items properly measure the underlying dimensions of mental illness. Criterion validity was analyzed by looking at the relationship between the SRQ-20 and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Sensitivity, specificity and the predictive values of the screening instrument were used to assess how well the results of SRQ-20 correspond with the criterion instrument.ResultsThe SRQ-20 had good internal reliability (α = 0.78). Factor analysis yielded two factors, explaining 31.2% of the total variance. The instrument performed well in detecting common mental disorders, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.879 (SE = 0.23, 95% CI 0.83–0.92) to the overall sample and with optimal cut-off score at 5/6 with sensitivity 78.6% and specificity 81.5%. Cut-off scores were different for women (5/6) and men (4/5). For male participants, the AUC statistic was 0.877 (SE = 0.04, 95% CI 0.79–0.96) and 0.871 (SE = 0.02 95% CI 0.81–0.92) for female participants.ConclusionThe Tigrinya version of the SRQ-20 can be used for screening probable common mental disorders in Eritrean primary health care setting, but cut-off scores need to be adjusted for men and women separately.

Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is a mood disorder that occurs within the first 12 months after delivery. It affects 20 to 40% of women living in the low-income countries. In resource limited countries discovering the predictors of PPD is important as it allows close follow-up and targeted screening of at risk mothers. The objective of this study was to assess the magnitude and predictors of PPD among recently delivered mothers in Central Region of Eritrea. Methods This study used analytical cross-sectional study design to evaluate the magnitude of and factors associated with postpartum depression among 380 randomly selected mothers. The study was conducted in four primary health care facilities of Zoba Maekel (Central Region), Eritrea. A structured closed-ended questionnaire was used to capture the socio-demographic and maternity related information of the study participants. The standard Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition was used to assess depression. The dependent variable for this study was status of the mother with regard to PPD. The socio-demographic and maternity related variables of the mothers, presumed to influence the likelihood of developing postpartum depression, were the independent variables. Results In this study the prevalence of PPD was found to be 7.4%. Mother’s who are housewives were less likely to develop PPD (AOR = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.06–0.97; p = 0.046), whereas, mothers with perceived low economic status (AOR = 13.33, 95% CI: 2.66–66.78; p = 0.002), lack of partner support (AOR = 5.8, 95% CI: 1.33–25.29; p = 0.019), unplanned pregnancy (AOR = 3.39, 95% CI: 1.24–9.28; p = 0.017), maternal illness after delivery (AOR = 7.42, 95% CI: 1.44–34.2; p = 0.016), and reside in Southwest-Asmara (AOR = 6.35, 95% CI: 1.73–23.23; p = 0.05) had statistically significant higher odds of postpartum depression. Conclusions In the current study setting, factors that associated with PPD are grouped in to two domains; the woman’s potential to bear the forthcoming responsibility and the social support they get after delivery. The findings of this study imply the need to introduce an active screening program for PPD the health facilities as part of the postpartum care.

No abstract

No abstract