Screening For Mental Disorders Using The GMHAT Application in Diabetic andHypertensive Patients At Industry Health Centre Between July to October 2024,Georgetown, Guyana
Introduction
Mental, neurological, substance use disorders, and suicide cause a significant
disease burden in Guyana, especially among youth. Chronic illnesses like diabetes and
hypertension increase risk for anxiety and depression. Early screening with tools like
GMHAT-PC is vital for effective detection and management in primary care.
Aim: To assess prevalence of mental illness using the Global Mental Health Assessment
Tool ‑ Primary Care Version (GMHAT–PC) application among diabetes and hypertensive
patients attending the chronic disease clinic at Industry Health Center, Greater Georgetown,
Guyana from July to October 2024.
Method
A Quantitative, cross-sectional design was utilized. Purposive sample of 106
diabetic and hypertensive patients were interviewed using GMHAT-PC tool. Ethical
approval was obtained from the IRB, Ministry of Health, and GPHC. Data was analyzed
using SPSS version 30.0.
Results
45.28% of patients were in the age group of 65 to 75 years. 74.5% females, 67.9%
East Indians, 52.8% had secondary education, 51.46% married, 86.8% were living with the
family members. GMHAT-PC report showed 88.7% patients had no mental illness, 4.7%
had anxiety and depression respectively. According to the primary care physician’s report
67% had no mental illness, 15.1% had depression 5.7% had stress and 3.8% had anxiety.
72.6% patients were satisfied with the interview. Physician was satisfied with the tool.
Conclusion
The study finding suggests that GMHAT-PC tool is feasible to screen for
mental illness among chronic disease patients at primary health care settings by Primary
care physicians as well as other health care professionals who are trained in mental health.