The Lifetime Prevalence and Factors Associated with Relapse Among Mentally Ill Patients at Jimma University Medical Center, Ethiopia: Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

AbstractRelapse is a condition of getting back to illness after the recovery from illness. It results in stigma, high cost of treatments, and a decline in functionality both for patients and their families. It is common in mentally ill patients therefore this study attempted to assess lifetime prevalence and factors associated with relapse in a patient with mental illness. Institutional based cross-sectional study design was employed and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 178 study participants. Data were collected through face to face interviews by using a single item question to measure relapse. Data were entered by using Epi-data 3.1 software and exported to the statistical package for social science 22.0 software for analysis. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to see the association between dependent and independent variables and to identify significant variables associated with the outcome variable at P < 0.05 multivariable logistic regression analysis was done. One hundred seventy-eight mentally ill patients have participated in the study that yields a response rate of 100%. From all 125 (70.2%) of them had relapsed. Non adherance (AOR = 6.35, 95% CI, 2.524–15.852, P < 0.001), high disablity score (AOR = 3.728, 95% CI, 1.434–9.687, P = 0.007) and having single admission history (AOR = 0.196, 95% CI, 0.050–0.761 P = 0.019) were factors which indepedently associated with relapse of mentally ill patients. This study found more than two-thirds of patients had relapsed. Adherence to medication, functional disability, and having single admission were variables that predict the relapse of mentally ill patients.