Recognition of Mental Health Problems by Primary Care Physicians in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

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 .

Keywords

• recognition
• mental health
• primary care physicians