ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2007
Detection of major depression in Ugandan primary health care settings using simple questions from a subjective well-being (SWB) subscale.
Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Comparing the accuracy of brief versus long depression screening instruments which have been validated in low and middle income countries: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2012Pooled it
- E-Screening for Prenatal Depression in Kampala, Uganda Using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: Survey Results.Online journal of public health informatics · 2025Article
- Psychotic disorders in HIV-positive versus HIV-negative patients: comparative study of clinical characteristics.BJPsych open · 2024Article
- Mobile Based mhGAP-IG Depression Screening in Kenya.Community mental health journal · 2018Article
- Prevalence of unrecognized depression and associated factors among patients attending medical outpatient department in Adare Hospital, Hawassa, Ethiopia.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2016Article
- The prevalence of depression among patients and its detection by primary health care workers at Matawale Health Centre (Zomba).Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi · 2014Article
- Naturalistic outcome of treatment of psychosis by traditional healers in Jinja and Iganga districts, Eastern Uganda - a 3- and 6 months follow up.International journal of mental health systems · 2012Article
- Gender-based profiling of Quality of Life (QOL) of primary health care (PHC) attendees in central Uganda: a cross sectional analysis.African health sciences · 2010Article
- Reliability of the Luganda version of the Child Behaviour Checklist in measuring behavioural problems after cerebral malaria.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2009Article
- The prevalence and severity of mental illnesses handled by traditional healers in two districts in Uganda.African health sciences · 2009Article
- Psychological distress and associated factors among the attendees of traditional healing practices in Jinja and Iganga districts, Eastern Uganda: a cross-sectional study.International journal of mental health systems · 2008Article
- Clinical epidemiology in patients admitted at Mathari Psychiatric Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2008Article
- Capacity building in global mental health research.Harvard review of psychiatryArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo explore whether the 4-item subjective well-being subscale could be used to detect a major depressive illness. Secondly, to describe the prevalence and characteristics of depressed health care attendees at primary healthcare centres.
methodUsing a descriptive, cross-sectional study design, we interviewed 199 consecutive patients about their socio-demographics, subjective well-being (SWB), major depressive illness symptoms and depression severity. The instruments used were translated into Luganda.
resultsPoint prevalence of a current Major Depressive Episode (MDE) was 31.6%. Using a one week reference period, we found that experiencing a lot of distress, having less energy or poor health, having poor emotional and psychological adjustment and not being satisfied with life were significantly more common among patients with a current MDE. The 4-item SWB subscale detected depression of up to 87.1% (95% CI: 0.818-0.923). In logistic regression, all four SWB items predicted a current MDE.
conclusionMajor depressive illness is a common at primary healthcare level in Uganda. Four simple questions reflecting SWB items have potential to detect diagnosable patients likely to have a current MDE, making general screening procedures less necessary.
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