Abstract
Background No previous epidemiological studies of child mental health have been conducted in Bangladesh, partly due to lack of suitable measures. Methods A Bangla translation of a standardised child psychiatric interview, the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA), was validated against routine clinical diagnoses on a consecutive series of 100 referrals to a child mental health service. A two-phase study of prevalence was applied to random samples of 5- to 10-year-olds (N=922) drawn from three contrasting areas: A rural area, a moderately prosperous urban area, and an urban slum. Results There was substantial agreement between the DAWBA and the independent clinic diagnosis (kappa~0.63-0.94). The estimated prevalence of any ICD-10 diagnosis was 15% (95% Cl 11- 2 1%). The rate of obsessive-com pulsive disorder was higher than in previous studies. Children from the slum area were significantly m ore likely to have serious behavioural problems, and marginally more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder. Conclusion A conservative extrapolation is that around 5 million Bangladeshi children and adolescents have psychiatric disorders. In a country with very few child mental health professionals, there is a vast gap between need and provision that must be addressed. III.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Children's Services in the Developing World |
| Publisher | Taylor and Francis Inc. |
| Pages | 317-325 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781351952224 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780754627791 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2017 |
Keywords
- Bangladesh
- Child and adolescent
- Epidemiology
- Mental health problem
- Psychiatric disorder
- Standardized assessment