Adolescents’ use of health services in Alexandria, Egypt: association with mental health problems

Abstract

The study assessed patterns of health service use by adolescents and the association with mental health problems in Alexandria, Egypt. A systematic stratified r and om sample of 1577 school students aged 14-19 years completed a self-report questionnaire about demographic and health status, use of health services in the previous year, and the Children’s Depression Inventory and the Adolescent Self-Report Aggression Scale. Overall, 97.1% of students reported using school health clinics once or more in the year before the study, 93.7% primary health centres, 16.8% mental health services and 13.6% other health services. A history of organic illness in the previous year [OR = 1.80], having depressive symptoms [OR = 2.93] and having aggressive symptoms [OR = 5.53] were significantly associated with frequent use of health services [