Burden of caregiving among caregivers of patients with severe mental illnesses in Benin City, Nigeria.

Background: Severe mental illness exerts a tremendous burden on both the sufferer and caregiver. Such burden has been severally identified as enormous involving psychological, physical and economic challenges. Objectives: This study examined the prevalence of burden of caregiving among caregivers of patients with severe mental illness; its relationship with the socio-demographic characteristics of the caregivers and patients, and the clinical variables of the patients. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed, and participants included a dyad of 141 consecutive caregivers and patients who met the study inclusion criteria at the psychiatric out-patient clinic of a tertiary hospital. The Zarit Burden Interview was used to collect data from the caregivers; in addition, separate socio-demographic data collection sheets were used to collect data from caregivers and patients accordingly. Version 22 of SPSS was used to analyze the data at a statistically significant level of P< 0.05. Results: About 37.6% of the caregivers experienced moderate to severe burden of caregiving. Duration of caregiving had a weak positive correlation with burden of care (r=.298, p=.004). While adjusting for other variables, duration of caregiving (OR=1.163, P=.017, 95% CI=1.027-1.317), and poor social support (OR=.438, P=.047, 95% CI=.194-.199) retained independent, statistically significant association with burden of caregiving, explaining about 16% in the variance of burden of caregiving. Conclusion: There is a need to provide social support for caregivers of persons suffering from mental illness. Subsidization of cost of medication and hospitalization can reduce the burden experienced.

Psychological disorders among human immunodeficiency virus-infected adults in southern Nigeria.

Persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) have been reported to be more at risk of developing mental illness than the general population. A cross sectional study was carried out to evaluate psychological symptoms of PLWHA. A total of one hundred and thirteen persons living with HIV/AIDS (M = 43, F = 70) with an age range of 21-65 years X = 38.00 +/- 9.68 participated in the study. Paranoid ideation, Depression, Neuroticism, Interpersonal sensitivity and Anxiety were the most common psychopathologic symptoms. Women reported a higher proportion of psychopathology compared to men on all subscales. There was no significant statistical difference between the age groups on all symptoms evaluated. Single PLWHA in this study had a higher tendency towards psychopathology compared to the married or widowed. The psychopathological proportion of symptoms reported by PLWHA in this study calls for concern. Mental health screening and psychological intervention thus remains imperative in the care of PLWHA in Nigeria.

The prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among school-aged children in Benin City, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence of ADHD among school-aged children in Benin City, Nigeria. METHOD: A total of one thousand, three hundred and eighty four (1384) primary school pupils, aged between six and 13 years, were recruited from six primary schools. Teacher's ratings of the 18 DSM-IV symptoms of ADHD were collected and analysed as a function of gender and subtype. RESULTS: The results support a documented trend in ADHD reports: males had a higher prevalence rate. The prevalence rate of 8.0% found is also consistent with documented evidence. Conclusion The results strengthen earlier observations that there is no significant geographical variation on the prevalence of ADHD if common definitions and diagnostic tools are employed. This study being the first from Nigeria provides data for crosscultural comparison as a prerequisite for establishing a common knowledge of ADHD.