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Hospital doctors' management of psychological problems at a Nigerian tertiary health institution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Baba A. Issa ,
Abdullahi D. Yussuf ,
Olatunji A. Abiodun  and
Ganiyu T. Olanrewaju
Baba A. Issa
Affiliation:
University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria, email issababa2002@yahoo.com
Abdullahi D. Yussuf
Affiliation:
University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria
Olatunji A. Abiodun
Affiliation:
University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria
Ganiyu T. Olanrewaju
Affiliation:
University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria
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Abstract

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A questionnaire was sent to all consenting doctors at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. It asked about their management of psychological problems in their clinical practice. Over 90% would welcome more time to talk to patients and agreed that psychological and social factors should be routinely assessed and recorded for patients. Most respondents would refer patients with depression or disturbed behaviours. ‘Ineffective treatment’ and ‘dislike of psychiatric referral’ were not the main reasons for non-referral. A majority of the doctors had initiated treatment for anxiety and insomnia but not for alcohol withdrawal, psychosis, acute confusional state or depression. Doctors' awareness of ‘the impact of psychological factors on the course of physical illness' was high. To sustain this high level of awareness and encourage referral, in-house psychoeducational training of hospital doctors should be intensified. In addition, an increased doctor/patient ratio, public education to reduce stigma and a well developed liaison psychiatric service are imperative.

Type
Research papers
Information
BJPsych International , Volume 12 , Issue S1: Research Supplement , May 2015 , pp. S-11 - S-15
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015

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