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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1422104
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding Vulnerability to Major Depressive Disorder View all 6 articles

Predictors of depression among caregivers of patients with severe mental illness in Northwest, Ethiopia, 2023: An explanatory sequential mixed method study

Provisionally accepted
Birhanu M. Munie Birhanu M. Munie 1*Zelalem Birhan Zelalem Birhan 2Getasew Legas Getasew Legas 1Sintayehu Asnakew Sintayehu Asnakew 1Amsalu Belete Amsalu Belete 1Getnet M. Beyene Getnet M. Beyene 1Kirubel Shiferaw Kirubel Shiferaw 1Anemut Tilahun Anemut Tilahun 3Yohannes Tesfahun Kassie Yohannes Tesfahun Kassie 4Tigabu Munye Tigabu Munye 5Assasahegn Tedla Assasahegn Tedla 1
  • 1 Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Amhara, Ethiopia
  • 2 Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wollo University, Wello, Ethiopia
  • 3 Department of Biochemistry, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Amhara, Ethiopia
  • 4 Department of Nursing, College of Health Science, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Amhara, Ethiopia
  • 5 Department of Comprehensive Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Amhara, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Severe mental illness results in an enormous social and economic burden on affected individuals, their families, and communities, especially in developing countries, such as Ethiopia.Objective: To assess the level of depression among caregivers of patients with severe mental illness in Debre Tabor Town, North West, Ethiopia in 2023.Methods: This institution-based explanatory mixed study was conducted at Debre Tabor Compressive Specialized Hospitals between September 30 and October 30, 2023. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 260 study participants, and a public health questionnaire was used to assess depression.Epicollect5 was used to collect data, which were then exported to the SPSS-25 for analysis. Variables with a P-value <0.25 were considered candidates for the multivariate logistic regression analysis. The odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval were used to determine the strength of the association. An in-depth interview was conducted with 11 participants, selected using purposive sampling.The Prevalence of depression was 31.3% (95%, CI, 29.7, 38.6). The mMultivariate analysis showed that being female (AOD = 2.43, CI, 1.42-7.23), divorced/widowed (AOD = 1.8, CI = 1.32-6.34), poor social support (AOD = 2.2, CI = 1.9-5.87), and perceived stigma (AOD = 2.33, CI = 0.24-13.22) were negatively positively associated with depression. The qualitative results suggest that being female, illiterate, illness severity of the illness, lack of poor social support, and stigma were factors for depression.The prevalence of depression was high among caregivers of patients with severe mental illness. Female gender, being divorced or widowed, being illiterate, poor social support, and perceived stigma were the factors. This implies that a greater focus on caregivers and the government increases mental health literacy and mental health community services.

    Keywords: caregiver, Depression, Ethiopia, severe mental illness, mental illness

    Received: 23 Apr 2024; Accepted: 23 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Munie, Birhan, Legas, Asnakew, Belete, Beyene, Shiferaw, Tilahun, Kassie, Munye and Tedla. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Birhanu M. Munie, Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Amhara, Ethiopia

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