| ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2011 | Volume
: 18
| Issue : 4 | Page : 266-271 |
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Recognition of Mental Health Problems by Primary Care Physicians in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nigeria
UE Asibong1, NE Udonwa1, AN Gyuse1, IB Okokon1, T Aluka1, EE Ekpe2
1 Department of Family Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
2 Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
N E Udonwa
Department of Family Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar
Nigeria
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
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Aims and Objectives: This study sought to determine the difference in detection of attendees with mental health problems visiting the General Out-patient clinic of a tertiary institution; the General Health Questionnaires (GHQ-12) were compared with those identified by the physicians.
Patients and Methods: Three hundred and twenty two (322) subjects aged 18 years and above, attending the clinic for the first time, were recruited for the study by a systematic random sampling method. Using a cut off score of '3' on the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), 'Cases' and 'Non-cases' generated were compared with those identified by the doctors. Identification rates for both groups were calculated and the coefficients determined using a two-by-two contingency table.
Results: The GHQ-12 identified 46.6% 'cases' while the General Out-patient Clinic (GOPC) doctors identified 6.8% with a diagnostic sensitivity of 8% and a specificity of 94%
Conclusion: Despite the high proportion of mental health problems in the GOPC of the hospital, the detection rate by the clinic doctors was low. There is a need for the use of an easy tool like the GHQ-12 for screening and identification of attendees with mental health problems especially in a busy clinic setting . |
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