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Socio-Demographic and Clinical features of Adolescents Attending an Out-Patient Psychiatric Clinic of a Nigerian University Teaching Hospital
Abstract
Aim:To find out the socio-demographic and clinical features of adolescent who attended the outpatient psychiatric clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu over a five-year period (1995 – 1999)
Method:Case notes of all the patients who attended this clinic for this five-year period were extracted from the medical records department of the hospital and examined. The case notes of all the adolescents who attended the clinic were then isolated from the lot and studied.
Results: Out of a total of 3277 patients seen in this clinic for this period, 583 were found to be adolescent representing a period prevalences of 17.8%; 60.2% of the adolescents were students. The average age of the adolescents was 14.5years, 31.2% of the adolescents presented with schizophrenic symptoms followed by substance abuse, which recorded 20% of attendance. There were 62.6% males and 37.3% females giving a male: female ratio of approximately 2:1.
Conclusion: In view of large number of adolescent who attended the out-patient psychiatric clinic of this hospital, it was concluded that government should lay more emphasis on the improvement of the mental health status of adolescents by creating an enabling socio-economic environment through better youth employment and educational opportunities as well as counseling in schools among others.
Key words: Socio-demographic, Adolescents, Psychiatric Out-patient Clinic.
(J College Med: 2003 8(1): 47-49)
Method:Case notes of all the patients who attended this clinic for this five-year period were extracted from the medical records department of the hospital and examined. The case notes of all the adolescents who attended the clinic were then isolated from the lot and studied.
Results: Out of a total of 3277 patients seen in this clinic for this period, 583 were found to be adolescent representing a period prevalences of 17.8%; 60.2% of the adolescents were students. The average age of the adolescents was 14.5years, 31.2% of the adolescents presented with schizophrenic symptoms followed by substance abuse, which recorded 20% of attendance. There were 62.6% males and 37.3% females giving a male: female ratio of approximately 2:1.
Conclusion: In view of large number of adolescent who attended the out-patient psychiatric clinic of this hospital, it was concluded that government should lay more emphasis on the improvement of the mental health status of adolescents by creating an enabling socio-economic environment through better youth employment and educational opportunities as well as counseling in schools among others.
Key words: Socio-demographic, Adolescents, Psychiatric Out-patient Clinic.
(J College Med: 2003 8(1): 47-49)
