Mental Illness in One District of Uganda

Abstract

AIMS: To estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorder in one district of Uganda. METHODS: Data were collected from a survey of a random sample of households in Kabarole, West Uganda. Interviews were carried out with household members. Further information was obtained from interviews of key community informants and from Focus Group discussions conducted in each Parish. RESULTS: Some 384 households were surveyed. Of these, 99 households identified members with a mental illness in the previous year and a total of 130 individuals were identified, 12 of whom were children. Few individuals had been seen by formal mental health services and traditional methods of treatment were commonly used. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated prevalence of 30.7% in adults is higher than that of 25.3% found in the only other community based survey of mental illness previously conducted in Uganda. A well conducted study using modern case defining methods needs to be carried out in Uganda.