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- Alem, Atalay, et al.
(författare)
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Awareness and attitudes of a rural Ethiopian community toward suicidal behaviour. A key informant study in Butajira, Ethiopia.
- 1999
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Ingår i: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplementum. - : Wiley. - 0065-1591 .- 1600-5473 .- 0001-690X .- 1600-0447. ; 100:S397, s. 65-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One hundred key informants were interviewed regarding their awareness and attitudes toward suicidal behaviour. Eighty-eight informants were male, 58 were Muslim and 42 were Christian. Informants on average, claimed to know more persons who had completed suicide than those who had attempted suicide. Almost all informants mentioned more than one cause for suicide. Of these, frustration was the most frequently mentioned cause. Most informants believed that suicide attempters are cruel, feared and not trustworthy. Their attitude toward suicide completers was expressed as condemned sinners, do not deserve funeral ceremony, and should be buried separately from others. Christians gave importance to the funeral issue more than did the Muslims. Generally, the attitudes of informants were punitive and disapproving.
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- Alem, Atalay, et al.
(författare)
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Clinical course and outcome of schizophrenia in a predominantly treatment-naive cohort in rural Ethiopia
- 2009
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Ingår i: Schizophrenia Bulletin. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0586-7614 .- 1745-1701. ; 35:3, s. 646-654
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The established view that schizophrenia may have a favorable outcome in developing countries has been recently challenged; however, systematic studies are scarce. In this report, we describe the clinical outcome of schizophrenia among a predominantly treatment-naive cohort in a rural community setting in Ethiopia. The cohort was identified in a 2-stage sampling design using key informants and measurement-based assessment. Follow-up assessments were conducted monthly for a mean duration of 3.4 years (range 1-6 years). After screening 68 378 adults, ages 15-49 years, 321 cases with schizophrenia (82.7% men and 89.6% treatment naive) were identified. During follow-up, about a third (30.8%) of cases were continuously ill while most of the remaining cohort experienced an episodic course. Only 5.7% of the cases enjoyed a near-continuous complete remission. In the final year of follow-up, over half of the cases (54%) were in psychotic episode, while 17.6% were in partial remission and 27.4% were in complete remission for at least the month preceding the follow-up assessment. Living in a household with 3 or more adults, later age of onset, and taking antipsychotic medication for at least 50% of the follow-up period predicted complete remission. Although outcome in this setting appears better than in developed countries, the very low proportion of participants in complete remission supports the recent observation that the outcome of schizophrenia in developing countries may be heterogeneous rather than uniformly favorable. Improving access to treatment may be the logical next step to improve outcome of schizophrenia in this setting.
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- Alem, Atalay, et al.
(författare)
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How are mental disorders seen and where is help sought in a rural Ethiopian community? A key informant study in Butajira, Ethiopia.
- 1999
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Ingår i: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplementum. - : Wiley. - 0065-1591 .- 1600-5473 .- 0001-690X .- 1600-0447. ; 100:S397, s. 40-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One hundred key informants were interviewed about their awareness, attitudes and practices regarding mental illness using the Key Informant Questionnaire developed by WHO. Case vignettes of seven common neuropsychiatric disorders were presented to the key informants. Informants' awareness about these disorders and help-seeking practices for mental and physical symptoms or conditions were assessed. An additional question on the prototype symptoms of mental disorders was also posed. Among the presented seven conditions, epilepsy was perceived as the most common condition and major depression was regarded as the least common one. Schizophrenia was judged as the most severe problem, and mental retardation was considered the second most severe condition. Talkativeness, aggression and strange behaviour were the most frequently perceived prototype symptoms of mental illness. Traditional treatment methods were preferred more often for treating symptoms of mental disorders and modern medicine was preferred more often for treating physical diseases or symptoms. Findings of this study are similar to other studies conducted in socio-culturally different communities. Working in close connection with traditional healers would give the primary health care worker a better opportunity to gain acceptance from the community and modify certain harmful practices.
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- Alem, Atalay, et al.
(författare)
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Suicide attempts among adults in Butajira, Ethiopia.
- 1999
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Ingår i: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplementum. - : Wiley. - 0065-1591 .- 1600-5473 .- 0001-690X .- 1600-0447. ; 100:S397, s. 70-76
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a cross-sectional survey, 10,468 adults of a rural and semi-urban community were interviewed to determine lifetime suicide attempts. Among the study population, 58% were female, 74.4% were Muslim and 79.3% had had no formal education. The majority of the population were in the age group 25-59 years. Lifetime suicide attempt was reported by 3.2% (n = 332) of the study population. Of these, 63% (n = 208) were women. The most frequent age of attempt was between 15 and 24 years and the frequency of attempt decreased with increasing age. Hanging and poisoning were the most frequently reported methods of attempting suicide. Marital or family conflict was the most frequently reported cause for attempting suicide and most of those who reported this cause were women (Chi-square = 17.42; P < 0.001). Men were significantly more likely to use hanging to attempt suicide than women (Chi-square = 8.21; P < 0.001). Among Christians 3.9% had a lifetime suicide attempt compared to 2.9% among Muslims (Chi-square = 6.15; P < 0.05). People who currently had mental distress and problem drinking reported lifetime suicide attempt more often than others.
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- Alem, Atalay, et al.
(författare)
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The epidemiology of problem drinking in Butajira, Ethiopia.
- 1999
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Ingår i: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplementum. - : Wiley. - 0065-1591 .- 1600-5473 .- 0001-690X .- 1600-0447. ; 100:S397, s. 77-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to determine the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of problem drinking, a total of 10,468 persons aged 15 and above, most residing in a rural district, were interviewed using the CAGE questionnaire as an important element of a general mental health survey. Twenty-three per cent of the respondents admitted that they currently drank alcohol. The prevalence of alcohol drinking was 15% for women and 36% for men. Among those who drank, 16% met the criterion for problem drinking as defined by two or more positive responses to the CAGE. The overall prevalence for problem drinking was found to be 3.7%. Stratified analysis for sex showed that Christian religion, male sex, being ethnically non-Gurage, and smoking were strongly associated with problem drinking in both sexes. Marital status, mental distress and income were found to be associated factors with problem drinking only in men.
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- Alem, Atalay, et al.
(författare)
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The prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of khat chewing in Butajira, Ethiopia.
- 1999
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Ingår i: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplementum. - : Wiley. - 0065-1591 .- 1600-5473 .- 0001-690X .- 1600-0447. ; 100:S397, s. 84-91
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A house-to-house survey was carried out in a rural Ethiopian community to determine the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of khat use. A total of 10,468 adults were interviewed. Of these, 58% were female, and 74% were Muslim. More than half of the study population (55.7%) reported lifetime khat chewing experience and the prevalence of current use was 50%. Among current chewers, 17.4% reported taking khat on a daily basis; 16.1% of these were male and 3.4% were female. Various reasons were given for chewing khat; 80% of the chewers used it to gain a good level of concentration for prayer. Muslim religion, smoking and high educational level showed strong association with daily khat chewing.
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| 9. |
- Alem, Atalay, et al.
(författare)
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The prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of mental distress in Butajira, Ethiopia.
- 1999
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Ingår i: Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Supplementum. - : Wiley. - 0065-1591 .- 1600-5473 .- 0001-690X .- 1600-0447. ; 100:S397, s. 48-55
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 10,468 rural and semi-urban adults in an Ethiopian district using the Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) to detect the prevalence of mental distress and its association with socio-demographic risk factors. Fifty-eight per cent of the study population were women, 74% were Muslim, 79% were illiterate. Those experiencing 11 or more symptoms out of the 20 SRQ items were considered as having mental distress. Accordingly, the prevalence of mental distress was 17%, which is comparable with the previous hospital-based studies in Ethiopia and elsewhere. However, it was higher than the previous community-based studies in Ethiopia. Mental distress was more prevalent among women. Part of the explanation was that women in the study population were older and that they were more often widowed or divorced, which were factors associated with mental distress. Illiteracy, which was more common among women and older individuals, was also independently associated with mental distress.
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- Araya, Mesfin, 1954-
(författare)
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Postconflict internally displaced persons in Ethiopia : mental distress and quality of life in relation to traumatic life events, coping strategy, social support, and living conditions
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: There are about 23.7 million internally displaced persons worldwide today, still living in the low-income countries. Ethiopia has for the past four decades been ravaged by war and famine. A lengthy civil war resulted in Eritrea, formerly a part of Ethiopia, becoming an independent state in 1991. This war led to displacement of one million people, and currently there are about 55000 internally displaced Ethiopians in Addis Ababa, most of them living in temporary shelters. A minority resettled in a small town Debre Zeit south east of Addis Ababa, dispersed in the community. Objectives: To study the consequences of trauma and extreme stress among these displaced persons. Methods: A random sample of 1200 displaced persons was selected from the Kaliti and Kore shelters of Addis Ababa, aged between 18 and 60 years. They were interviewed by internationally validated instruments which were translated into the Ethiopian official language Amharic. Information thus obtained covered sociodemographics, childhood trauma, traumatic life events, and mental distress as assessed by the SCL-90-R, the four domains of quality of life assessed by WHOQOL-BREF, coping strategies, perceived social support, and basic living conditions. A sample of 120 subjects from the displaced persons living in Debre Zeit was similarly evaluated. A study comparing prevalence rates and risk factors for PTSD in four postconflict, low-income countries (Algeria, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Gaza) was also undertaken. Results: Men, compared to women, reported significantly higher experience of trauma, higher perceived social support, and higher task-oriented coping. Women reported higher emotion-oriented coping. In both genders, emotion-oriented coping was correlated with higher trauma events, and task-oriented coping was correlated with higher perceived social support. Mental distress increased and quality of life decreased with age. Mental distress mediated the effects of most trauma in reducing quality of life, and some trauma reduced quality of life directly. Living conditions were also significantly related to quality of life. Coping strategies and perceived social support influenced mental distress and quality of life directly as well as indirectly by moderation, in part gender specific. Placement in the community setting of Debre Zeit gave a better quality of life compared to placement in the shelters of Addis Ababa. This difference was accounted for by the difference in living conditions, particularly protection from animals (rodents) and insects (mosquitoes), for three domains of quality of life. For domain 3 (social relationships), however, several further factors accounted for the difference, like marital status, ethnic belonging and coping strategy. The comparative study of 4 postconflict countries contributes to the theory that trauma may be the direct cause of the onset of PTSD but that a multiplicity of other adverse events determine the development of this disorder. Conclusions: Using the same assessment methods, a wide range of rates of symptoms of PTSD were found among 4 low-income populations who have experienced war, conflict, or mass violence. In the Ethiopian context we also found gender differences in the trauma background, coping strategies and perceived social support. Mental distress mediated much of the effects of trauma on quality of life. Coping strategies and perceived social support were significant moderators in this process.
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