Making strides in women's mental health care delivery in rural Ethiopia: demographics of a female outpatient psychiatric cohort at Jimma University Specialized Hospital (2006-2008).

Journal: International journal of women's health

Volume: 5

Issue: 

Year of Publication: 2013

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA ; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Abstract summary 

This paper presents the delivery of mental health care to a sample of women living in Jimma, rural Ethiopia, and their access to mental health services. A total of 226 psychiatric charts were reviewed for women seen at Jimma University Specialized Hospital. The mental health charts included documentation ranging from one paragraph to a full note. No psychiatric chart recorded medication status, detailed substance abuse history, or a history of violence. Rendering appropriate mental health care for women requires concerted efforts by multiple stake holders. Using our results, we advance concrete and practical suggestions for improving women's mental health in rural Ethiopia. We point out that the health care system needs to be responsive, allowing for change starting with gender rights, so that rural women have access to basic mental health services.

Authors & Co-authors:  Chemali Zeina N ZN Borba Christina Pc CP Henderson Tanya E TE Tesfaye Markos M

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations :  The United Nations Millennium Development Goals Available at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/Accessed June 24, 2013
Authors :  4
Identifiers
Doi : 10.2147/IJWH.S43617
SSN : 1179-1411
Study Population
Women,Female
Mesh Terms
Other Terms
Africa;gender differences;global mental health;low income country
Study Design
Cohort Study,Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
Ethiopia
Publication Country
New Zealand