ABSTRACT
Introduction & Objective:Research has shown that mental disorders are increasing year after year. Mental illness imposes a heavy burden both on individuals and their families. Factors such as changes in life style, population age, urbanization, social environment, poverty, substance abuse, wars, and violence affect mental health of the world’s population. This study was performed to determine the mental health status of families referring to Shiraz Health Centers.
Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive, analytical and cross sectional study which was performed on 1536 people (720 male and 816female) from four city areas (east, west, south and north). The method of sampling was systematic randomized cluster. The subjects were interviewed and requested to fill out the General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ – 28). They were above 19 years of age. Then the data were analyzed using SPSS software.
Results:Findings indicated that 22.9% of families (354) were suspected of suffering from mental disorder. About 27.6% of the subjects suffered from anxiety and 29.1% from somatization. Another 29% had problem with their social performance and 13.7% of them suffered from depression.
Conclusion:There was a significant relationship between demographic variables such as gender, level of education, marital status and rate of disorders.
Sharifi F, Joulaei H, Kadivar M, Rajaeefard A. Mental Health Status and its Related Demographic Variables of Families Referring to Shiraz Health Centers – 2002. armaghanj 2004; 9 (3) :75-84 URL: http://armaghanj.yums.ac.ir/article-1-820-en.html