Prevalence of mental distress and use of health services in a rural district in Vietnam

AIMS: The aims were to estimate the prevalence of mental distress in different socio-demographic groups; and to analyze use of health care services among persons reporting mental distress. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews with the Self-Reporting Questionnaires (SRQ-20) were conducted in a sample of 3,425 persons aged 18–60 years. A two-stage probability sampling design was applied to select study subjects. Persons with more than six positive responses to the SRQ-20 were identified as having mental distress. Prevalence was estimated for different socio-demographic groups, and odds ratios of having mental distress were obtained by multiple logistic regression analyses. MAIN FINDINGS: The prevalence of mental distress was 5.4% (6.8% in women and 3.9% in men). Illiteracy and unstable employment status were significantly associated with mental distress among men. Nearly half of those with mental distress had no treatment. Among those who took some health care measures, use of private health services was the most common, followed by self-treatment. Only 5% of those with mental distress sought health care at facilities where mental health care services were available. CONCLUSIONS: Although there was a low prevalence of mental distress, the low use of mental health services indicated that there was a treatment gap in mental health care. Since many people used private services, intervention programs should include private providers to strengthen their capacity to provide mental health care for the community.