Prevalence of mental disorders in selected rural community at Trivandrum, Kerala

 The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in selected rural community of Trivandrum district. A descriptive design was used to conduct the study. A population of 447 from rural area were surveyed. A mental health screening tool was prepared by the investigators, each of which has certain subsets that describe the nature of the problem under study. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. 5.2 % in rural area are having mental health problems and 17.2% are having substance abuse. 33.6% of children are presented with mental health problems. The prevalence of mental disorders reported in epidemiological surveys can be considered as lower estimates rather than accurate reflections of the true prevalence in the population. Researchers have focused on broad non-specific, non-modifiable risk factors, such as age, gender and social class. Future research can be focused on the general population, longitudinal (prospective), multi-centre, co-morbid studies, assessment of disability and its functioning, family burden and quality of life studies involving a clinical service providing approach.