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Substance Use Among Patients Admitted to Psychiatric Units in Harare, Zimbabwe
14 Pages Posted: 13 Sep 2019
More...Abstract
Mental and substance use disorders contribute significantly to the global burden of disease. Cross sectional studies done in various high and low income countries show a high prevalence of substance use among patients in psychiatric units. The last local study done to investigate prevalence of substance use among patients admitted to psychiatric units in Zimbabwe was published 19 years ago. Local surveillance information however suggested a change in patterns of substance use needing further investigation. This cross sectional study surveyed a sample of 322 patients admitted to two of the referral psychiatric units in Harare, Zimbabwe from November 2014 to March 2015. Data was collected using a socio-demographic questionnaire, WHO AUDIT and the DAST 10. Urine screening was carried out using on site qualitative immune-chromatographic cassettes. Case notes were reviewed for working diagnosis and details of substance use histories. Current use of alcohol ranged from 24% for illicit alcohol to 56% for beer. After alcohol, the most commonly used substances currently were tobacco products (47%), cannabis (39%) and cough syrups (22%). Thirty eight percent of patients had an alcohol use disorder (WHO score greater than 8) and 34% had a drug use disorder (DAST 10 score greater than 3). Fifty four percent of patients who consented to a urine tests had a positive urine screen for cannabinoids. Forty percent of the patients had a substance related primary diagnosis however 20% of participants had no entry on substance use in their case notes and the substance use histories documented were poorly detailed. There is a high burden of substance related psychiatric conditions in psychiatric units in Zimbabwe with emergence of psychoactive substances (cough syrups and illicit alcoholic beverages) that had not been previously reported on.
Funding: None.
Declaration of Interest: None.
Ethical Approval: Ethical approval to conduct the study was sought from the Institutional Research Boards for the hospitals as well as the Medical Research council of Zimbabwe. Written informed consent was sought from all participants or their relatives/caregivers prior to interviews and urine sampling. The interviews were conducted in a private consultation room to maintain confidentiality.
Keywords: substance use, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, mental health, psychiatric, Zimbabwe
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation