Group Psychological Therapy in Obstetric Fistula Care: A Complementary Recipe for the Accompanying Mental Ill Health Morbidities?

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of group psychological therapy (GPT) on the mental health of obstetric fistula patients. It was a comparative pre and post intervention design. All patients had GPT prior to surgery and mental health assessment conducted before and after surgical repair. There was a significant reduction in proportion of those with severe mental health status after surgery. Specifically, the proportion of those with depression score of 4 and above reduced from 71.7% to 43.4%, and those with score of less than 4 increased from 28.3 to 56.6 percent. There was a significant reduction in those with very low self-esteem from 65.0% to 18.3%. Suicidal ideation reduced generally; severe (15.0 to 0%), moderate (16.7 to 5.0%) and mild (25.0 to 21.7%) and those without increased (43.3 to 73.3%). In conclusion, GPT is a useful adjunct to OF care as it improves their overall mental health status. (Afr J Reprod Health 2014; 18[1]: 156-160).

Keywords: Obstetric fistula, mental ill health, Group Psychotherapy, South Sudan