Screening for Psychological Distress among Outpatient Attendees at a Rural Health Center in Goa, India, Using World Health Organization Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 Scale: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Psychological distress has been defined as a state of emotional suffering with predominant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Given the state of poor awareness of psychological morbidities in general population, the associated stigma as well as the lack of training among primary health-care professionals in identifying psychological morbidities has led to poor detection rates. We therefore conducted this study to estimate the psychological distress among outpatient department attendees at a rural health center in Goa, using the World Health Organization Self-Reporting Questionnaire (WHO-SRQ)-20 screening questionnaire and to identify some associated factors. Methodology: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural area. Systematic sampling technique was used to include 300 study participants aged 18 years and above. Psychological distress was measured using the 20-point WHO-SRQ. Those identified as having psychological distress were reconfirmed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) under supervision by a trained psychiatrist. Data were later entered into Google Sheets and analyzed using IBM-SPSS 24. Results: Around 7.7% of the participants had psychological distress. Female sex, marital status, education level, type of family, and alcohol use were significantly associated with psychological distress. Confirmation of diagnosis by the HAM-D indicated 21 of the 23 participants identified by WHO-SRQ had definitive psychological distress. Conclusion: WHO-SRQ is a simple screening tool which can be routinely used to effectively screen for psychiatric morbidities at primary care level.