Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T01:26:04.410Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychiatric Morbidity in Primary Health Care in Santiago, Chile Preliminary Findings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Ricardo Araya ,
Robert Wynn ,
Richard Leonard  and
Glyn Lewis
Ricardo Araya*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Chile Santiago
Robert Wynn
Affiliation:
London Hospital, London
Richard Leonard
Affiliation:
London Hospital, London
Glyn Lewis
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London
*
Dr Ricardo Araya, Profesor Asistente, Departamento de Salud Pública, Universidad de Chile, Condell 303, Santiago, Chile
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

The aims were to determine the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among primary care attenders in a poor suburb of Santiago and to study the relationship with health service use.

Method

A cross-sectional survey was made of 163 consecutive attenders to a primary care clinic.

Results

Eleven per cent of the sample gave a psychological reason for consultation and the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was 53%, defined using the revised Clinical Interview Schedule. Women and those of lower socio-economic status were at higher risk. Physicians recognised 14% of the psychiatric morbidity. Attenders with psychiatric morbidity consulted more frequently.

Conclusions

There is a need to improve the recognition and management of psychiatric morbidity in primary care in Chile and other less developed countries. This could lead to the more efficient use of scarce health care resources in primary care.

Type
Short Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 165 , Issue 4 , October 1994 , pp. 530 - 533
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Araya, R., Wynn, R. & Lewis, G. (1992) A comparison of two psychiatric case-finding questionnaires (GHQ-12 and SRQ-20) in primary care in Chile. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 27, 168–173.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. P. & Huxley, P. (1992) Common Mental Disorders. London: Tavistock/Routledge.Google Scholar
Iacoponi, E. (1989) The Detection of Emotional Disorders by Primary Care Physicians: A study in Säo Paulo, Brazil. PhD thesis. London: University of London.Google Scholar
Lewis, G., Pelosi, A. J., Araya, R. I., et al (1992) Measuring psychiatric disorder in the community: The development of a standardised assessment for use by lay interviewers. Psychological Medicine, 22, 465–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mari, J. J. (1987) Psychiatric morbidity in three primary medical care clinics in the city of Säo Paulo: issues on the mental health of the poor. Social Psychiatry, 22, 129–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mari, J. J., Iacoponi, E., Williams, P., et al (1987) Detection of psychiatric morbidity in the primary medical care setting in Brazil. Revista Saúde Publico Säo Paulo, 21, 501–507.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Salud, Ministerio (1989) Políticas de Salud Mental del Ministerio. Santiago, Chile.Google Scholar
Penayo, U., Kullgren, G. & Caldera, T. (1990) Mental disorders among primary health care patients in Nicaragua. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 82, 82–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistics and Epidemiology Research Corporation (1991) EGRET version 26.6. Seattle: SERC.Google Scholar
Vazquez-Barquero, J. L., Wilkinson, G., Williams, P., et al (1990) Mental health and medical consultation in primary care settings. Psychological Medicine, 20, 681–694.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.