Open AccessWhy is the recognition rate of psychological distress under-estimated in general hospitals? A cross-sectional observational study in China
Author(s) -
Yu Wang,
Alexandra Murray,
Anne-Kristin Toussaint,
Liang Chen,
Wanjun Guo,
Ning He,
Shanhong Luo,
Jing Yu,
Yang Liu,
Meizhu Huang,
Zaiquan Dong,
Lan Zhang
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.59
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1536-5964
pISSN - 0025-7974
DOI - 10.1097/md.0000000000016274
Subject(s) - medicine , concordance , observational study , anxiety , patient health questionnaire , cross sectional study , distress , mental health , psychiatry , mental distress , psychological distress , clinical psychology , depressive symptoms , pathology
This study aimed to investigate the recognition rate of psychological distress in general hospitals in China and to examine the main associated factors. Using a cross-sectional study design, the questionnaires were administered to a total of 1329 inpatients from a tertiary hospital. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) and the Whiteley-7 (WI-7) were used to assess patients’ mental health status. Two subjective questions were used to identify the awareness of psychological distress in patients and doctors. The frequency of psychological distress measured by the questionnaires was high in our sample (53.4%). However, the recognition rates of both patients (34.9%) and by doctors (39.1%) was low. The concordance rate between patients and doctors of whether the patient had psychological distress or not was extremely poor (Kappa = 0.089, P = .001). Factors associated with the poor concordance rate included patients’ annual household income and clinically significant self-reported symptoms of anxiety and hypochondriasis. The recognition rate of psychological distress was underestimated and this may be related to a lack of awareness of mental disturbances and patients’ low annual household income.