H. Dilek YALVAÇ, Zeynep KOTAN, SÜHEYLA ÜNAL

Help Seeking Behavior and Related Factors in Schizophrenia Patients: A Comparative Study of Two Populations from Eastern and Western Turkey

Amaç: Bu çalışmada ülkemizin doğusu ve batısında yer alan iki ilçedeki şizofreni hastalarının çare arama davranışlarının özelliklerini araştırmak ve karşılaştırmak amaçlanmıştır.Yöntem: Çalışma 2006 yılında Tatvan Devlet Hastanesine başvuran 31, 2007 yılında ise Menemen Devlet Hastanesine başvuran 41 remisyonda olan şizofreni hastasıyla yapılmıştır. Hastalarla demografik bilgilerini, hastalıklarını nasıl açıkladıklarını ve nasıl çareler aradıklarını sorgulayan kısa anket tarzında yarı yapılandırılmış bir görüşme gerçekleştirilmiştir.Bulgular: Tatvan ve Menemendeki popülasyonlar eğitim ve gelir seviyeleri açısından birbirinden farklıydı. Tatvandaki hastaların eğitim yılı ortalaması 4.3±4.2 iken, Menemendekilerin 6.8±3.5 yıl idi (p=0.008). Gelir düzeyi açısından Tatvandaki hastaların %45i düşük gelirliyken, Menemendeki hastaların %54ü orta gelirliydi (p=0.016). Tüm hastaların %74ü hastalıkları sürecinde dinsel çare arayışı içinde bulunmuşlardı. Her iki gruptaki hastaların hastalıkları için ne tür çare arayışları içinde oldukları sorgulandığında Menemendeki hastaların %85i psikiyatriste gitmeyi tercih ederken, Tatvanda bu oran %32 idi (p

Şizofreni hastalarında çare arama davranışı ve ilişkili faktörler: Türkiyenin doğusunda ve batısındaki iki popülasyon arasında karşılaştırmalı bir çalışma

Objective: In this study, it is aimed to investigate and compare the properties of help-seeking behaviour of schizophrenia patients from two districts situated in eastern and western Turkey.Method: Thirty one schizophrenia patients admitted to Tatvan State Hospital in 2006 and 41 schizophrenia patients admitted to Menemen State Hospital in 2007 were recruited in the study. All the patients were in remission. A semi-structured, short questionnaire type interview was carried out with the patients inquiring about their socio-demographic properties and the ways they explain and seek help for their illness.Results: The populations from Tatvan and Menemen significantly differed in terms of educational and income levels. Mean education duration of patients was 4.3±4.2 years for Tatvan and 6.8±3.5 years for Menemen (p=0.008). Fourty five percent of patients from Tatvan were of low income level and 54% of patients from Menemen were of middle-income level (p=0.016). Seventy four percent of all patients seeked help from religious sources for their illness. The percentage of patients seeking for psychiatric help was 85 for Menemen and 32 for Tatvan (p<0.001). Patients with education level of secondary-school and higher seeked for psychiatric help more than the less educated patients (p=0.039). Seventy one percent of all patients were advised to consult a psychiatrist by their family members. Discussion: This study revealed that a substantial proportion of schizophrenia patients from the two different districts were in seek of help from religious sources. Seeking for psychiatric help increased with increasing education level which indicates the importance of implementation and development of psycho-educational programs for both patients and their families.

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