• Z G Rukundo, N Nakasujja, and S Musisi.
• Department of Psychiatry, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda. grukundo@must.ac.ug
• Afr Health Sci. 2013 Mar 1; 13 (1): 828682-6.

BackgroundPhysical illness is commonly associated with psychological distress that may be a direct effect of the illness or an adjustment in coping with the physical illness or its treatment. Little is known about psychological distress of patients on general wards in developing countries.ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the extent and associations of psychological distress among adult in-patients on medical and surgical wards of Mbarara hospital in Uganda.MethodsIt was a cross sectional descriptive study among 258 adult in-patients. The WHO endorsed self report questionnaire (SRQ-25) was used to assess psychological distress with a cut off of 5/6. The MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to identify specific psychiatric disorders. Cross-tabulations and multivariate analysis was used to analyze the relationship between psychological distress and different factors.ResultsOne hundred and fifty eight individuals (61%) had psychological distress. One hundred and nine (42%) met criteria for at least one major psychiatric diagnosis. Only 6% of these were recognized by the attending health workers. Psychological distress was significantly associated with previous hospitalizations, ward of admission and marital status.ConclusionsThere is a high level of psychological distress among the physically ill and it is often unrecognized and untreated.

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