• Fahad D Alosaimi, Youssef Alshehri, Ibrahim Alfraih, Ayedh Alghamdi, Saleh Aldahash, Haifa Alkhuzayem, and Haneen Albeeeshi.
• Fahad D. Alosaimi, MD, Assistant Professor, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Pak J Med Sci. 2014 Sep 1; 30 (5): 107710821077-82.

ObjectiveWe investigated the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among visitors to Faith Healers (FHs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We also studied the sociodemographic profiles for these visitors, in addition to their past psychiatric history, reason(s) for seeking FH help, and past and current treatment experience with FHs.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study among the visitors (n=321) to a number of faith healing settings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia using a specially designed questionnaire and validated Arabic version of The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.ResultsMost of the participants were young adults (35.1±10.8 years) and males with intermediate and secondary levels of education who had not sought medical help prior to their visits. A high proportion of the FH visitors have diagnosable mental illnesses. Depressive and anxiety disorders were the most prevalent among the study participants; few visitors were affected by psychotic or bipolar disorders.ConclusionsThe present study provides insight for understanding the type of patients with psychiatric disorders who visit Faith Healers.(FHs). The study highlights the tendency of psychiatric patients in Saudi Arabia to visit FHs, which could reflect the importance of further studies to clarify the impact of FHs on the management of those patients.

3 keywords...

hide…