Mortality trends among inpatients at a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Ethiopia

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Selam A Yoseph

Amanuel Specialized Mental Hospital, Ethiopia

: Int J Ment Health Psychiatry

Abstract

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Background: Mortality among people with mental illness is higher than that in the general population. Given the service changes in the past decade in Ethiopia, evaluating the pattern of mortality during this period may provide policy relevant information. Method: A case-control design was employed. Data on inpatient mortality were collected retrospectively for a period of nine years (2006-2014) using the Health Management Information System (HMIS) records and clinical records kept at the tertiary hospital. Changes in the service configuration were also tracked over the nine years period to explore the potential impact of changes in management upon mortality. Data were analyzed through simple descriptive methods and logistic regression. Result: A total of 16,081 patients were admitted during the nine year period. The overall mortality rate of inpatients was 2.5/1000 admitted patients. The sex specific all-cause mortality rates were high in females (4.6/1000) than in males (1.8/1000). The mortality rate varied over the nine years between 0.5/1000 to 5.0/1000, with indications of fluctuations commensurate with changes in service. Most died of natural causes, primarily of infectious diseases although suicide also accounted for the death of 12.5% (n=5). Conclusion: Mortality occurs mainly from preventable causes including suicide. Service reconfigurations may play important role in mitigating mortality; however, further systematic studies are required to determine the impact of service configurations on mortality and general morbidity.

Biography

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Selam A Yoseph has over seven-year experience in the field of medicine, specifically focusing on mental illness. Currently, she is a Psychiatrist at Amanuel Specialized Mental Hospital, where she works as the Director for the Emergency Department. She is engaged in teaching undergraduate medical students, supervising and consulting her staff, besides her daily practice of treating patients in the hospital. She has completed her Degree in Medicine from University of Gondar, College of Medicine and Health Sciences and her Specialization in Psychiatry from Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences. She is also a Mandela Washington Fellow who took Leadership training in the USA at the University of Maine, after being enrolled in the program called Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). She is committed in raising awareness about mental illness and working towards sustainable change in the lives of people with mental illness.

E-mail: selamaberra17@gmail.com