Abstract
Background Depression is the most prevalent mental disorder among prisoners and is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Depression affects more for those who are less educated, female, single, and young prisoners, and worldwide prevalence of depression among prisoners is 10.2% and 14% for male and female prisoners, respectively. However, a study conducted on prevalence of depression and associated factors is scarce in Ethiopia (Tigray) despite there is high magnitude. Methodology. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 414 prisoners in Mekelle General Prison Center. Data were collected from April to May 2019. A structured and standardized data collection tool (PHQ-9) was used. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out by SPSS version 20. Statistical significance was determined at P value < 0.05. Result In this study, 408 prisoners had participated. The prevalence of depression among prisoners was found to be 228 (55.9%; 95% CI: 51.2%, 61%). Being unemployed and student, lifetime substance use, history of child abuse, weight loss in prison, quality of meal in prison, being not happy inside prison, being sentenced for more than six years, and poor and moderate social support were significantly associated with depression. Conclusion Prevalence of depression among prisoners was found to be high (55.9%). Prisoners who had lifetime substance use, being unemployed and student, history of childhood abuse, weight loss inside prison, being sentenced for more than six years, not happy inside prison, lack of social support, and poor quality of prison meal were more likely to have depression. Thus, giving training to strengthen social support, giving training on how to cope up with prison environment, giving training to scale up a happy life, and improving quality of prison meal as well as mental health service will help to reduce the problem. Conducting interventional study is relevant.
Highlights
Depression is the most prevalent mental disorder among prisoners and is the second leading cause of disability worldwide
Around 10 million people are found in prisons and most of them are from low- and medium-income countries (LMICs) [1,2,3,4]
This study is aimed at assessing magnitude of depression and identifying its associated factors among prisoners detained in Mekelle General Prison Center, Ethiopia, which will serve as an input for policy makers, health service planners, and strategy designers
Summary
Depression is the most prevalent mental disorder among prisoners and is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Lifetime substance use, history of child abuse, weight loss in prison, quality of meal in prison, being not happy inside prison, being sentenced for more than six years, and poor and moderate social support were significantly associated with depression. Mental disorder affects all the community significantly (schizophrenia (0.3-0.7%) and depression (4.4%)), there is high prevalence of mental disorder among prisoners (schizophrenia (4%), depression (10%, male and 14%, female)) than the general population [3, 6,7,8,9,10,11,12].
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