Management of co-morbidity of depression and chronic non- communicable diseases in Rwanda (original) (raw)

Facilitators, barriers and potential solutions to the integration of depression and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) care in Malawi: a qualitative study with service providers

International Journal of Mental Health Systems

Background Integration of depression services into infectious disease care is feasible, acceptable, and effective in sub-Saharan African settings. However, while the region shifts focus to include chronic diseases, additional information is required to integrate depression services into chronic disease settings. We assessed service providers’ views on the concept of integrating depression care into non-communicable diseases’ (NCD) clinics in Malawi. The aim of this analysis was to better understand barriers, facilitators, and solutions to integrating depression into NCD services. Methods Between June and August 2018, we conducted nineteen in-depth interviews with providers. Providers were recruited from 10 public hospitals located within the central region of Malawi (i.e., 2 per clinic, with the exception of one clinic where only one provider was interviewed because of scheduling challenges). Using a semi structured interview guide, we asked participants questions related to their u...

Screening of Depression Among Medical Outpatients Visiting the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, Rwanda

Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 2024

Background: Depression is a significant global public health concern, affecting individuals across different age groups and cultural backgrounds. However, screening for depression remains an essential but often neglected aspect of healthcare, particularly in outpatient settings. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression among outpatients visiting the internal medicine department of the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali in Rwanda and evaluate the feasibility of implementing a depression screening program in this setting. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed, involving 300 adult medical outpatients through convenience sampling, aged 18 years and above, who visited the internal medicine department between October 7 to November 6, 2019. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used as the screening tool to assess depressive symptoms. Additionally, socio-demographic and clinical data were collected to explore potential risk factors associated with depression using a binary logistic regression model. Results: A high prevalence of depression was identified among internal medicine outpatients, with 45.7% of participants screened positive for depression, with moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression accounting for 21%, 17%, and 8%, respectively. The following factors were significantly associated with positive screening for depression: lack of formal education (OR=4.463, p=0.011, 95% CI= [1.410; 14.127]), secondary education (OR=3.402, p=0.003, 95% CI= [1.517; 7.630]), low-income (OR=2.392, p=0.049, 95% CI= [1.003; 5.706]) and headache as a chief complaint (OR=3.611, p=0.001, CI= [1.718; 7.591]). Conclusion: This study highlights the high prevalence of depression among medical outpatients. Due to the stigma associated with mental health, patients frequently seek help for physical symptoms such as headaches and other bodily complaints rather than mental health concerns. Introducing routine depression screening in medical departments could potentially facilitate early identification, and intervention, and lead to improved patient care. Future research should focus on evaluating such screening programs' effectiveness and long-term outcomes in resource-limited settings like Rwanda.

Depression and Associated Factors Among the Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Rwanda.

Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences, 2019

Background: Various studies have found a greater prevalence of depression among patients having one or more chronic non communicable disease like diabetes mellitus than in the general population. This co-morbidity is linked with serious health consequences such as high mortality and morbidity, debility, low quality of life and increased health costs. The aim was to determine the prevalence of depression among patients with diabetes attending three selected district hospitals in Rwanda. Sociodemographic factors associated with depression were also explored. Methods: It was a descriptive cross sectional study. A sample of 385 was selected randomly to participate in the study and 339 complete the questionnaires making a response rate of 88%. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to screen depression. Descriptive and inferential analysis were done. Results: The majority of respondents 83.8% (n=284) had depression. Among them 17.9% (n=61) had moderately severe to severe depression while 81.9% (n=223) had minimal to moderate depression. A statistically significant association was found between age and depression (p=0.01) also between gender and depression (p=0.02). Significance was determined at P<0.05. Conclusion: we found a high prevalence of depression among patients with diabetes. The regular screening of depression among these patients is recommended.

The role of patient-provider communication: a qualitative study of patient attitudes regarding co-occurring depression and chronic diseases in Malawi

BMC Psychiatry

Background Globally, depression is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality particularly in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are also increasing in LMICs, the conditions frequently co-occur and exacerbate NCD outcomes. Depression interventions alone are not effective at improving NCD outcomes, resulting in wide-reaching calls for integrated services. Integrated services are in a nascent phase in LMICs in general and in Malawi in particular. This manuscript serves to clarify Malawian patients’ attitudes and perceptions towards depression integration into routine NCD services. Methods Ten District Hospitals were selected for data collection and 2 participants were interviewed from each site (N = 20). An iterative approach to concept-driven coding was applied to facilitate the formation of similarities, differences, and connections between codes. Results While patients infrequently described moderate depression as a medical condi...

Power and medical knowledge: a qualitative study of attitudes regarding co-occurring depression and chronic diseases in Malawi

2019

Background : Globally, depression is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality particularly in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are also increasing in LMICs, the conditions frequently co-occur and exacerbate NCD outcomes. Depression interventions alone are not effective at improving NCD outcomes resulting in wide-reaching calls for integrated services. Integrated services are in a nascent phase in LMICs in general and in Malawi in particular. This manuscript serves to clarify Malawian patients’ and providers’ attitudes towards depression integration into routine NCD services. Methods : Ten District Hospitals were selected for data collection. Thirty-nine participants were interviewed. An iterative approach to concept-driven coding was applied to facilitate the formation of similarities, differences, and connections between codes. Results : While patients infrequently described moderate depression as a medical condition, and hel...

Stakeholders’ perspectives on integrating the management of depression into routine HIV care in Uganda: qualitative findings from a feasibility study

International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 2021

Background HIV/AIDS continues to be a major global public health problem with Eastern and Southern Africa being the regions most affected. With increased access to effective antiretroviral therapy, HIV has become a chronic and manageable disease, bringing to the fore issues of quality of life including mental wellbeing. Despite this, the majority of HIV care providers in sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda’s Ministry of Health, do not routinely provide mental health care including depression management. The purpose of this paper is to explore stakeholders’ perspectives on the feasibility and acceptability of integrating depression management into routine adult HIV care. The paper addresses a specific objective of the formative phase of the HIV + D study aimed at developing and evaluating a model for integrating depression management into routine HIV care in Uganda. Methods This was a qualitative study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 11 patients at enrollment a...

Development and assessment of an active strategy for the implementation of a collaborative care approach for depression in primary care (the INDI·i project)

BMC health services research, 2017

Primary care is the principal clinical setting for the management of depression. However, significant shortcomings have been detected in its diagnosis and clinical management, as well as in patient outcomes. We developed the INDI collaborative care model to improve the management of depression in primary care. This intervention has been favorably evaluated in terms of clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness in a clinical trial. Our aim is to bring this intervention from the scientific context into clinical practice. Objective: To test for the feasibility and impact of a strategy for implementing the INDI model for depression in primary care. A quasi-experiment conducted in primary care. Several areas will be established to implement the new program and other, comparable areas will serve as control group. The study constitutes the preliminary phase preceding generalization of the model in the Catalan public healthcare system. The target population of the intervention are patients wi...

Knowledge, attitudes and practice pertaining to depression among primary health care workers in Tanzania

International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 2009

Background: Examination of consultation data in a variety of primary care settings in Tanzania shows that, while psychoses are routinely diagnosed and treated at primary care level, depression is rarely recorded as a reason for consultation. Since, epidemiological studies elswhere show that depression is a much more common disorder than psychosis, a series of studies were undertaken to elucidate this apparent paradox in Tanzania and inform mental health policy; firstly, a household prevalence study to ascertain the prevalence of common mental disorders at community level in Tanzania; secondly, a study to ascertain the prevalence of common mental disorders in primary care attenders; and thirdly, a study to ascertain the current status of the knowledge, attitude and practice pertaining to depression among primary health care workers. This paper reports the findings of the latter study.

Prevalence of mental disorders, associated co-morbidities, health care knowledge and service utilization in Rwanda – towards a blueprint for promoting mental health care services in low- and middle-income countries?

BMC Public Health

Background In order to respond to the dearth of mental health data in Rwanda where large-scale prevalence studies were not existing, Rwanda Mental Health Survey was conducted to measure the prevalence of mental disorders, associated co-morbidities and knowledge and utilization of mental health services nationwide within Rwanda. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between July and August 2018, among the general population, including survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Participants (14–65 years) completed the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (Version 7.0.2), sociodemographic and epilepsy-related questionnaires. General population participants were selected first by random sampling of 240 clusters, followed by systematic sampling of 30 households per cluster. Genocide survivors within each cluster were identified using the 2007–2008 Genocide Survivors Census. Results Of 19,110 general survey participants, most were female (n = 11,233; 58.8%). Men...