Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among prisoners in Kaliti Federal Prison in Ethiopia: a facility based cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: This study intended to examine the prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among inmates in Kaliti Prison Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 694 randomly selected inmates in Kaliti Federal Prison in Ethiopia. The depressive symptom was examined using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify correlates of depressive symptoms. A p value <0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance, and an adjusted OR (AOR) with the corresponding 95% CI was computed to determine the strength of association. Data were analysed using SPSS V.20. RESULT: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among prisoners in the current study was 56.6% (95% CI 53.2 to 60.8). Poor social support (AOR: 3.33, 95% CI 2.03 to 5.458), personal history of mental illness (AOR=3.16, 95% CI 1.62 to 6.14), physical abuse (AOR=2.31, 95% CI 1.41 to 3.78) and comorbid chronic medical illness (AOR=3.47, 95% CI 2.09 to 5.74) were independent correlates of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that around one in two prisoners screened positive for depressive symptoms. There should be a regular screening of depressive symptoms for prisoners, and those screened positive should be linked to proper psychiatric service for early diagnosis and treatment.