Pathways to mental health care in Nepal: a 14-center nationwide study

BACKGROUND

Pathways to care studies are feasible and tested means of finding the actual routes taken by patients before reaching proper care. In view of the predominance of nonprofessional service providers and the lack of previous large studies on pathways in Nepal, this multicenter study is needed. The aim of the study was to trace the various pathways and carers involved in mental health care; assess clinical variables such as the duration of untreated illness, clinical presentation and treatment; and compare geographically and culturally diverse landscapes.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional, convenience sampling study performed at 14 centers where new cases were being taken. The World Health Organization Study of the Pathways-to-Care Schedule was applied. The Nepali version of the encounter form was used. The data were collected between 17 September and 16 October 2020 and were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Additionally, perspectives from local investigators were collected and discussed.

RESULTS

Most of the first carers were native/religious faith healers (28.2%), followed by psychiatrists (26%). The median duration for the first psychiatric consultation was 3 weeks. The duration of untreated illness was 30.72 ± 80.34 (median: 4) weeks, and the time taken for this journey was 94.99 ± 274.58 (median: 30) min. The longest delay from the onset of illness to psychiatric care was for epilepsy {90.0 ± 199.0 (median: 25.5)} weeks, followed by neurotic illness {22.89 ± 73.45 (median: 2)} and psychotic illness {10.54 ± 18.28 (median: 2)} weeks. Overall, most patients with severe mental illnesses (SMIs) had their first contact with faithhealers (49%), then met with medical doctors (13%) or psychiatrists (28%). Marked differences in clinical presentation surfaced when hilly centers were compared with the Terai belt.

CONCLUSIONS

Faith healers, general practitioners and hospital doctors are major carers, and the means of educating them for proper referral can be considered. The investigators see several hindrances and opportunities in the studied pathways. The employment of more mental health professionals and better mental health advocacy, public awareness programs and school education are suggested strategies to improve proper mental health care.

Perception of healthcare workers on mobile app-based clinical guideline for the detection and treatment of mental health problems in primary care: a qualitative study in Nepal

BACKGROUND

In recent years, a significant change has taken place in the health care delivery systems due to the availability of smartphones and mobile software applications. The use of mobile technology can help to reduce a number of barriers for mental health care such as providers' workload, lack of qualified personnel, geographical and attitudinal barriers to seek treatment. This study assessed the perception of Nepali primary healthcare workers about the feasibility, acceptability, and benefits of using a mobile app-based clinical guideline for mental health care.

METHOD

A qualitative study was conducted in two districts Chitwan and Ramechhap of Nepal with purposively selected medical officers (n = 8) and prescribing primary healthcare workers (n = 35) who were trained in the World Health Organization mental health Gap Action Program Intervention Guide. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted in Nepali, audio recorded, transcribed and translated into English for data analysis. Data were analysed manually using a thematic analysis approach.

RESULTS

The majority of the healthcare workers and medical officers reported a high level of interest, motivation and positive attitudes towards the mobile app-based clinical guidelines for detection and treatment of people with mental disorders in primary care. They respondents suggested that several features and functions should be included in the app: suggestive diagnosis and treatment options; clinical data recording system; sending messages to patients to promote follow-up visits; allow offline functions; minimal typing options and content to be available in Nepali language. The study participants reported that the app could help in bringing uniformity in diagnosis and management of mental disorders across all health facilities, enabling remote supervision, helping verification of health workers' diagnosis and treatment; and increasing patients' trust in the treatment. Lack of reliable internet connection in health facilities, possibility of distracting interaction between patient and provider, and confidentiality were the key factors potentially hindering the use of the app.

CONCLUSION

The suggested functions and features as well as the potential risk factors highlighted by the health workers, will be considered when further developing the mobile app-based clinical guidelines, training modality and materials, and the supervision system.

A Comparative Study of Clinical Profile, Metabolic Parameters and Outcome of Patient Among Subtypes of Alcohol Dependence Syndrome in Tertiary Level Hospital of Kathmandu Valley

Introduction: Alcohol is a legally allowed substance used for recreation associated with harmful health consequences both on using it and trying to quit (withdrawal phase). Many patients of alcohol dependence are brought to hospital or emergency in the withdrawal phase and require intensive treatment. It’s associated with life threatening conditions and associated with occurrences of seizures and confusion. Based on severity, it can be subtyped and managed differently. The study tries to compare and contrast the subtypes of withdrawal phases of alcohol in terms of clinical, outcome and metabolic parametersMaterials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of all patients diagnosed as alcohol dependence syndrome admitted over a period of two years (June 2016 to June 2018) in the psychiatric ward of KIST medical college and teaching hospital. It’s divided into two phases namely complicated and uncomplicated phase and clinical, outcome and metabolic parameters are compared and contrasted.Results: Out of 166 patients studied, 54% of the patients were diagnosed with complicated withdrawal features. Significant changes were noticed in increase duration of stay, low level of platelets and potassium and SGPT levels in a complicated group compare to the uncomplicated group. Mortality was not seen in any of the groupConclusions: Patients can be treated in-ward setting successfully and if the diagnosis is of complicated withdrawal then metabolic parameters like potassium, platelet level has to be taken into consideration. Complicated withdrawal features increase the chance of morbidity and increase the duration of stay.

Pathway to care among psychiatric patients attending a Tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu Valley

Introduction: Mental illness accounts for 14% of all disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost worldwide and is one of the major contributors to the global burden of disease. In spite of this much of burden and disability there is a huge gap between the treatment and help seeking behavior. Though, the mental illness is a common problem, due to stigma and lack of knowledge they prefer to visit alternative sources like faith healers, traditional practitioners and quacks. Very few of them seek psychiatrists help. So, this pathway to care study aims to provide some descriptive insight into the pathways to care among the psychiatric patients attending the tertiary care hospital in Kathmandu valley. Material and Method: A cross-sectional study among 66 patients seeking psychiatric outpatient services in Kist medical College, Imadole, Lalitpur, Nepal which is a Teriatry hospital from the period of 1st August – 31st October, 2018. Semi structured proforma developed by department of Psychiatry which covered the socio-demographic profile and WHO (1987) collaborative “pathway study” encounter form as a guiding tool was used to collect the data. Results: Out of 66 enrolled patients, 60.6% were in the age group of 21-40. Almost equal proportion of male (51.5%) and female (48.5%) visited psychiatric services. Majority of the patients were married (81.8%), Chhetri (25.8%) by caste and Hindu (81.8%) by religion. Majority of the patients were from outside valley (51.5), educated upto primary level (31.8%) and housewife by occupation (28.8%). The most common diagnosis was Depression (16.7%) and Alcohol Dependence syndrome (16.7%). Majority (45.5 %) of the patients had visited faith healer before visiting to Psychiatrists. 57.6 % patient visited psychiatrists within 2.5 months duration and majority of them were initiated to visit psychiatrists by family members/ relatives. Conclusion: Faith healers were the most common first contact for psychiatric patients. Despite of that majority of the patients had visited psychiatrists within 2.5 months duration. In most of the cases family members/ relatives were the one to initiate for psychiatric consultation.

Odontogenic myxofibroma- Report of a rare entity

Odontogenic myxofibroma is a rare, benign tumor, which is considered to be the variant of odontogenic myxoma. It is locally infiltrative, aggressive and has high recurrence rate. Only 24 specific cases of myxofibroma have been reported since 1950 and only two cases have been reported with excessive calcifications till 2012. Here, we report a rare case of Odontogenic myxofibroma with calcifications in 53 years old female patient who presented with the chief complain of swelling. The final diagnosis of Odontogenic myxofibroma was established after histopathological and immunohistochemical examination.

Development and pilot testing of a mental healthcare plan in Nepal

BACKGROUND

Mental health service delivery models that are grounded in the local context are needed to address the substantial treatment gap in low- and middle-income countries.

AIMS

To present the development, and content, of a mental healthcare plan (MHCP) in Nepal and assess initial feasibility.

METHOD

A mixed methods formative study was conducted. Routine monitoring and evaluation data, including client flow and reports of satisfaction, were obtained from patients (n = 135) during the pilot-testing phase in two health facilities.

RESULTS

The resulting MHCP consists of 12 packages, divided over community, health facility and organisation platforms. Service implementation data support the real-life applicability of the MHCP, with reasonable treatment uptake. Key barriers were identified and addressed, namely dissatisfaction with privacy, perceived burden among health workers and high drop-out rates.

CONCLUSIONS

The MHCP follows a collaborative care model encompassing community and primary healthcare interventions.

Can masturbatory guilt lead to severe psychopathology: a case series

Masturbation is common in all societies. Despite being common, it is admonished culturally and almost all religions prohibit masturbation and consider it an act of immorality. The prohibition for masturbation leads to a lot of cultural beliefs, including certain myths, which influence sexual behavior of the person. The impact of these common cultural myths associated with masturbation, are clinically understood as Dhat syndrome and masturbatory guilt. Although there is a reasonable literature on Dhat syndrome, there is limited literature with regard to masturbatory guilt especially linking the same with axis-I psychopathology. In this case series, three cases of masturbatory guilt are presented in whom masturbatory guilt was associated with manifestation of severe psychopathology. This report suggests that masturbatory guilt must be enquired for in patients presenting with severe mental disorder.