[Evaluation of mental health program integration into the primary health care system of Iran]

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the integration of mental health program into primary health care system. In a cross-sectional, quantitative and qualitative study, the knowledge, attitude and performance of 1209 individuals of general population, 146 behvarzes, 35 health technicians and 51 general practitioners from rural health centers of Gilan, Tehran, Meshad, Iran, Kerman and Kermanshah universities of medical sciences who were undercoverage and out of coverage of mental health program in the rural areas of selected centers, were selected by randomized cluster sampling. The data was gathered using knowledge, attitude and performance questionnaires of behvarzes, general population and general practitioners toward mental health, behvarzes' performance on training, following up and referral of mentally patients based on primary health care [PHC] program, knowledge and attitude of general population toward mental illnesses, epilepsy, mental retardation, their causes and treatments, general physicians awareness about treatment, referral and integration of mental health program into PHC, general practitioners's performance of health centers and a semi-structured questionnaire for focus group discussion sessions [FGD]. Thirty trained mental health experts from neighborhood of selected provinces, completed questionnaires and analyzed. Descriptive statistics and independent t-test were executed. There was significant difference between behvarzes in areas under coverage and out of coverage in knowledge [p

Mental health status of individuals fifteen years and older in Tehran-Iran [2009]

This survey was implemented as a part of the Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool [Urban HEART Project] in Tehran, Iran. Since an accurate programming in order to provide mental health services in the province of Tehran requires basic and essential information, the present study was carried out to determine the mental health status of a population sample aged 15 years and over in the mentioned city. The present research was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The statistical population comprised all individuals residing in the 22 areas of Tehran Municipality. Regular random cluster sampling was used in order to choose the subjects from among the households in the mentioned areas. In total, 19370 subjects [7705 male and 11665 female] completed the 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire for the assessment of mental health. Data were collected and analyzed by trained personnel of Tehran municipality health centers. The results of this survey indicated that 34.2% of the population in the age group 15 years and above suffer from mental disorders [37.9% of women and 28.6% of men]. Women's relative risk of developing mental disorders was 1.3 times higher than that of men. The risk of mental disorders increased with age; and divorced or widowed people were 1.5 times more likely to develop mental disorders compared with single and married individuals. Housewives and unemployed men had the highest risk of developing mental disorders. The highest rates of positive responses to questions on the GHQ-28 were related to malaise and being bad-tempered, anxiety and apprehension, inability to allocate time to tasks, insomnia and hopelessness. Anxiety and somatization were more common than social dysfunction and depression. It is estimated that about 2 million individuals in Tehran require mental health care. Also, insufficient number of psychiatrists and psychiatric beds, indicates that there is a need to provide appropriate staff and facilities to make mental health care available in large cities such as Tehran. The provision of life skills workshops for general population is also suggested, in order to enable individuals to cope with stressful situations in urban areas