Transcultural approach to psychiatric and somatic comorbidities in the context of humanitarian medicine in Africa

Introduction: Mental health is an essential component of human well-being. Nowadays there is a tendency to contrast the biological disorder with the mental disorder; which is hardly the case because the first would affect the body, the soma while the second would affect the psyche. Mental disorders described in different psychiatric taxonomies appear to be of multiple etiologies.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and their co-morbidities during general medical consultations at the Mokassa Developmental Health Center.

Method: A quantitative and diagnostic study, which took place in the context of a humanitarian mission to Mokassa in Congo-Brazzaville in May 2012. The target population consisted of children, adolescents, adults, and people from the third age. Sampling was carried out by taxonomic triage in two phases, one in Brazzaville for the management of cases and the second phase which concerned the search and evaluation of referred patients. The data was analyzed using content analysis during the interviews. The diagnostic process was carried out using the semi-structured interviews method according to DSM-5 and data collection (interview, diagnosis, anamnesis). The recruitment of participants took place according to the rules of the charter. Helsinki.

Results: 50 patients were included during the study period, ie 27 (54%) men and 23 (46%) women, the most representative age group was that of] 35.45] years (34%); the reasons for frequent consultations were behavioral problems (20%) and headaches (24%). 30% of the patients suffered from depression, 4% suffered from psychosis and 2% from bipolar and schizophrenic disorder. The most represented comorbidity was the Nile with 44%.

Conclusion: Psychiatry has its place in humanitarian medicine and the mental health of the population of this island of Mossaka in the republic of Congo must be included in the strategic plan for the overall health of the Congolese authorities.