Abstract
A two-level community study was carried out among the Peul and Dogon populations of the Bandiagara plateau (Mali). For the purpose of the study the Questionnaire pour le depistage en santé mentale (QDSM), a 23-item screening questionnaire derived from the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), was adapted and validated; internal consistency and accuracy were evaluated. In the first phase of the study, 466 subjects randomly selected on a residential basis were evaluated by means of the QDSM. In the second phase all subjects who were “positive” at the screening, as well as a sample who were “negative”, were examined by means of a semistructured interview. When necessary, clinical and laboratory investigations were performed. The estimated prevalence of psychiatric cases was 6.4%. A significant risk was associated with age and education. Somatic diseases frequently associated with psychiatric disorders were genitourinary tract disorders, tuberculosis and disabling cardiopathies. The main factor determining the seeking of medical help either through traditional or conventional health systems was the presence of a somatic disorder. The presence of a true minor psychiatric disorder, however, was often associated with divining practices.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Åsberg M, Montgomery SA, Perris C, Schalling D, Sedvall G (1978) A comprehensive psychopathological rating scale. Acta Psychiatr Scand [Supp] 271: 5–27
Awande' S (1989) Approche epidemiologique des maladies mentales au Mali. Enquete realisee dans le service de Psychiatrie de l'Hopital du Poin G. Bamako (unpublished thesis)
Bebbington P (1990) Population surveys of psychiatric disorder and the need for treatment. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 25: 33–40
Bertschy G, Viel JF, Ahyi RG, (1992) Depression in Benin: an assessment using the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale and the principlal component analysis. J Affect Disord 25: 173–180
Carta MG, Carpiniello B, Vannucci I, Rudas N (1990) Cambiamento sociale, percezione del se e modificazioni psicopatologiche in un villaggio dell'Est Africa. In: Sanna MN, Lorettu L (eds) La Depressione, aspetti clinici e forensi. University of Sassari Press, Sassari, pp 176–189
Carta MG, Carpiniello B, Morosini PL, Rudas N (1991a) Mental disorders in Sardinia, a community study in inland mining district. Psychol Med 21: 1061–1071
Carta MG, Carpiniello B, Rudas N (1991b) L'immigration marocaine et senegalaise en Sardaigne. Resultats d'une enquete epidemiologique. Psychopathol Afr 12: 75–86
Carta MG, Carpiniello B, Cicone V, Sannais C, Paulis M, Rudas N (1993) Standardisation of psychiatric screening test for use by general practitioners in Sardinia. Acta Psychiatr Scand 87: 342–344
Cohen J (1960) A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educ Psychol Meas 20: 37–46
Coppo P (1983) Disordini psichici ed epilessia in una comunità tradizionale africana. Riv Sper Freniatr 24: 9–18
Coppo P (1984) Syndromes nevrosique et retard mental dans une communaute' rurale africaine: enquete epidemiologique. Psychol Med 16: 1273–1276
Coppo P (1993) Essai de psychopathologie dogon. CRTM/PSMTM, Perugia
Coppo P, Keita A (1990) Medicine traditionaille. Acteurs et itineraires therapeutiques. Edizioni F, Trieste
Cronbach LJ, Meehl P (1955) Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychol Bull 52: 281–302
Dhadphale M, Ellison RH, Griffin L (1983) The frequency of psychiatric disorders among patients attending semi-urban and rural general out-patient clinics in Kenya. Br J Psychiatry 142: 379–383
Dc Ganays S (1941) Les denises des dogons. Institut d'Etnologie, Paris
Giel R, Van Luijk JN (1969a) Psychiatric morbidity in a rural village in South-Western Ethiopia. Int J Soc Psychiatry 16: 73–71
Giel R, Van Luijk JN (1969b) Psychiatric morbidity in a small Ethiopian town. Br J Psychiatry 115: 149–162
Gillis LS, Lewis JB, Slebbet M (1968) Psychiatric disorder among the coloured of the Cape Peninsula. Br J Psychiatry 114: 1575–1587
Griaule M (1948) Dieu d'eau. Favard, Paris
Gureje O, Obikoya B (1992) Somatisation in primary care: pattern and correlates in a clinic in Nigeria. Acta Psychiatr Scand 86: 223–227
Harding TW, De Arango MV, Baltazar J (1980) Mental disorder in primary health care: a study of their frequency and diagnosis in four developing countries. Psychol Med 10: 231–241
Koumare' B, Diaoure' R, Miquel-Garcia E, Coulibaly MM, Carta MG, Kassambara I (1990) Définition d'un Instrument pour le dépistage des états psiconévrotiques. Rapport Centre Regional de Medicine Traditionaille, Bamako
Koumare' B, Diaoure' Miquel Garcia E (1992) Definition d'un instrument de dépistage des troubles psychiques. Psychopathol Afr 24: 229–242
Leff J (1990) The New Cross-Cultural Psychiatry. A case of the baby and the bathwater. Br J Psychiatry 156: 305–307
Leighton AH, Lambo TA, Hughes CC, Leighton DC, Murphy J, McMacklin BD (1963) Psychiatric disorder among the Yoruba. Cornell University Press, New York
Littlewood R (1990) From categories to contexts: a decade of the “New Cross-Cultural Psychiatry”. Br J Psychiatry 156: 308–327
Makanjoula JDA, Olaifa EA (1987) Masked depression in Nigerians treated at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Aro, Abeokuta. Acta Psychiatr Scand 76: 480–485
Murphy HBM (1978) The advent of guilt feelings as a common depressive symptom: a historical comparison on two continents. Psychiatry 41: 229–249
Ohaeri JU, Odejide OA (1994) Somatization symptoms among patients using primary health facilities in a rural community in Nigeria. Am J Psychiatry 151: 728–731
Orley J, Wing JK (1979) Psychiatric disorders in two African villages. Arch Gen Psychiatry 36: 513–520
Patel V, Musara T, Butau T, Maramba P, Fuyane S (1995) Concepts of mental illness and medical pluralism in Harare. Psychol Med 25: 485–493
Systema S, Balestrieri M, Gavioli I, Giel R, Hornten GHMM, Micciolo R, Tansella M (1994) Patterns of mental health care, Sjoerd Systema. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen
Vazquez-Barquero JL, Diez Manrique JF, Peña C, Quintanal RG, Labrador Lopez M (1986) Two-stage design in a community survey. Br J Psychiatry 149: 88–97
Wing JK, Cooper JE, Sartorius N (1974) Measurement and classification of psychiatric symptoms. Cambridge University Press, London
Wing JK, Mann SA, Leff JP, Nixon JM (1978) The concept of a case in psychiatric population surveys. Psychol Med 8: 203–217
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carta, M.G., Coppo, P., Carpiniello, B. et al. Mental disorders and health care seeking in Bandiagara: a community survey in the Dogon Plateau. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 32, 222–229 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00788242
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00788242