Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2018 May;64(3):217-224. doi: 10.1177/0020764018756437. Epub 2018 Feb 8.
Psychiatric illnesses have recently escalated in numbers, with patients resorting to various forms of healthcare providers, including faith healers. This delays early psychiatric treatment, resulting in further mental health deterioration of the patient. Various factors impact the mode of treatment preferred by psychiatric patients.
To determine the frequency of psychiatric patients visiting faith healers, presenting at the outpatient department of Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, and to explore the predictors that direct them toward visiting faith healers.
This cross-sectional survey was conducted using a semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire, employing a total of 219 male and female psychiatric patients. Patients were recruited through non-random consecutive sampling technique. SPSS 18 was used for statistical analysis.
About 32% of the patients had visited a faith healer in their lifetime. Frequency of current visitors declined; the most frequent reason being stated was no relief from their treatment. Students, patients of upper middle class and those coming for initial visit to a psychiatrist were more likely to visit a faith healer. Patients who knew of someone previously visiting a faith healer were less likely to have visited a faith healer.
This study highlights the importance of a multisectoral approach to dealing with psychiatric patients to help in bridging the treatment gap in mental health.
精神疾病的数量最近有所增加，患者求助于各种形式的医疗保健提供者，包括信仰治疗师。这会延迟早期精神科治疗，导致患者的心理健康进一步恶化。各种因素影响精神科患者首选的治疗方式。
确定在巴基斯坦卡拉奇利亚卡特国家医院（Liaquat National Hospital）门诊就诊的精神疾病患者拜访信仰治疗师的频率，并探讨引导他们拜访信仰治疗师的预测因素。
这项横断面调查使用半结构化的预先测试问卷进行，共招募了 219 名男性和女性精神科患者。患者通过非随机连续抽样技术招募。使用 SPSS 18 进行统计分析。
约 32%的患者在一生中曾拜访过信仰治疗师。目前的拜访频率有所下降，最常提到的原因是治疗没有缓解。学生、中上阶层的患者和初次看精神科医生的患者更有可能拜访信仰治疗师。那些知道有人以前曾拜访过信仰治疗师的患者不太可能拜访信仰治疗师。
这项研究强调了采取多部门方法处理精神科患者的重要性，以帮助弥合精神健康治疗方面的差距。
