Psychiatric morbidity and associated psycho-social factors among inmates of state home for women in Northern Karnataka

Context: Gender is an important factor in determining mental health and mental disease. Women are particularly vulnerable to mental health disorders due to a lack of family support, stigma surrounding mental illness, separation, emotional stress, financial dependency, domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Destitute or homeless women have a disproportionately high risk of mental illness. Aims: To determine the prevalence of psychiatric illness and related psychosocial determinants among inmates of a state-run home for women. Settings and Design: This is a single-center, cross-sectional descriptive study. Inmates of a state home for women in the northern part of Karnataka who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited. Materials and Methods: Eighty participants were evaluated using semi-structured proforma for psycho-social aspects. MINI-PLUS version 5.0 was used to screen the inmates for psychiatric morbidity and the diagnosis was confirmed using the International Classification of Diseases-10. Appropriate statistical tools were applied for the analysis. Results: Majority of the participants (78.75%) were diagnosed to have some psychiatric illness. The most common psychiatric morbidity was psychosis (35%), followed by affective disorders such as major depressive disorder (15%), bipolar disorders (10%), somatization disorders (7.5%), dysthymia (6.5%), and anxiety disorder (5%). Some of the psychosocial factors assessed, namely, marital status, employment status, and poor family support were significantly associated with psychiatric morbidity. Conclusion: This research focuses on psychiatric morbidity, overall clinical profile, and the impact of numerous psychosocial factors on mental health in this vulnerable population. To enhance the general mental health of such a vulnerable group, better policymaking, timely psychiatric interventions, and rehabilitation are required.