Background: In psychiatric emergencies, there is a high premium on rapid assessment and acuity categorization. The Crisis Triage Rating Scale (CTRS), a 3-item clinician-rated instrument, has been validated for assessing the severity or urgency of emotional crises in psychiatric emergency units. The CTRS also expedites the screening of patients who require hospital admission from those who are suitable for outpatient treatment. However, its utility has not been evaluated in Nigeria. Aim: This study aimed to assess the validity of the CTRS as a triage tool among patients attending a psychiatric emergency service in Nigeria.

Background Human rights watchdogs have described conditions in Nigerian correctional facilities and detention centers as damaging to the physical and mental health of inmates. While the prevalence of mental disorders is high, access to appropriate healthcare is grossly inadequate. Understanding the current state of prison inmates’ mental health and well-being is an essential first step to addressing this important issue. This study aims to document the mental health and experiences of incarceration of inmates of the largest medium security prison in Nigeria’s Benue State. Methods A cross-sectional survey and descriptive analysis was carried out with a random sample of 381 prison inmates of Benue State Makurdi Medium Security Prison. Survey tools included: (1) a structured questionnaire on participants’ experiences in prison, and (2) the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a screening tool for depression. Results Most participants were young men (95.5%, mean age 27.95) and had completed secondary school (63.5%). While prison authorities had identified only 27 participants as having a mental disorder, 144 (37.8%) screened positive for depression. Twenty six had received professional counseling while in prison. Of the six participants who were already taking a psychotropic medication at the time of imprisonment, four received medication after being imprisoned. Approximately half, (52%) of participants were dissatisfied with prison health care. Conclusions Despite the high prevalence of depression among prison inmates, few cases are detected and treated. Prison staff may not recognize depression as a mental disorder, and the mental health care available is generally poor. Inadequate mental health and social care not only affects prison inmates’ well-being, but may also impact recidivism and health outcomes upon release. Prison inmates should be screened routinely for depression and other less-commonly recognized mental health conditions, and appropriate treatment made available.

Depression has been consistently associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), it is also known to play an essential role in the initiation and exacerbation of CVD. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence and correlates of depression among patients attending the cardiology clinic of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi. The study was conducted among one hundred and six (106) consenting patients attending the cardiology unit of BSUTH from June to August 2017. The result shows that, 52(49.1%) were males while the remaining 54(50.9%) were females. The mean age of the respondents was 53.48±14.77years, twenty-eighty respondents representing 26.4% were married at the time of the study, 15(14.2%) were single while the remaining 63(59.4%) were previously married. Thirty-seven (34.9%) of the study subjects had no formal education and eighty-two (77.4%) of the presentation at the clinic were having a diagnosis of hypertension, 8(7.5%) were being treated for Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), 9(8.5%) were diagnosed with cardiomyopathies, 3(2.8%) were diagnosed heart failure and 4 (3.8%) had other cardiovascular diseases. The prevalence of depression was found to be 45.3% in this study, there was a statistically significant relationship between the diagnoses of depression and gender status (p=0.001), marital status (p=0.01), partner relationship (p=0.001), substance abuse (p=0.001). No statistically significant relationship was found between depression and occupational status (p=0.167), level of educational attainment (p=0.401), respondents’ weight (p=0.06), and the nature of cardiovascular diagnoses (p=0.951). We recommended early detection and treatment of depression among patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Aims: Schizophrenia is a devastating and disabling disorder associated with long term negative consequences and may require lifelong treatment. It is often complicated with self-stigma which makes treatment difficult and may be a source of complications. Ensuring good outcome will therefore, involve taking cognizance of self-stigma in the treatment plan. Studies examining self-stigma in patients with schizophrenia is scanty in Nigeria. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of self-stigma in patients with schizophrenia as well as identifying some of the correlates of self-stigma in the patients. Study Design:  Cross-sectional survey Place and Duration of Study: Outpatient clinic of a Neuropsychiatry hospital in Lagos state, Nigeria. Methodology: 320 adult patients with schizophrenia were recruited using a consecutive sampling technique. MINI international Neuropsychiatric interview (Psychotic disorder module) was used to confirm the diagnosis, after which socio-demographic questionnaire and the Internalized Stigma of Mental illness Inventory (ISMI), were administered to the patients. The data was analyzed with SPSS version 16 and the result presented in frequency tables, percentages, mean and standard deviation where necessary. Results: Majority of the participants (83.4%) were less than 50 years old, they were mostly females (57.2%), of Yoruba ethnic group (59.7%), Christians (75.6%), and were low-income earners, earning either no income or less than ₦18,000 monthly (72.2%). Also, over four-fifth (86.2%) had good social support.  Over a third (38.1%), were married, with about 80 percent of these living with their spouses while 46.5% were never married. The prevalence of self-stigma was 25.3%. Educational attainment below secondary school and multiple illness episodes were found to predict self-stigma in the study. Conclusion: Self-stigma is common in schizophrenia and its consideration in management is necessary for a good treatment outcome.

Background: Human rights watchdogs have described conditions in Nigerian correctional facilities and detention centers as damaging to the physical and mental health of inmates. While the prevalence of mental disorders is high, access to appropriate healthcare is grossly inadequate. Understanding the current state of prison inmates’ mental health and well-being is an essential first step to addressing this important issue. This study aims to document the mental health and experiences of incarceration of inmates of the largest medium security prison in Nigeria’s Benue State. Methods: A cross-sectional survey and descriptive analysis was carried out with a random sample of 381 prison inmates of Benue State Makurdi Medium Security Prison. Survey tools included: (1) a structured questionnaire on participants’ experiences in prison, and (2) the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a screening tool for depression. Results: Most participants were young men (95.5%, mean age 27.95) and had completed secondary school (63.5%). While prison authorities had identified only 27 participants as having a mental disorder, 144 (37.8%) screened positive for depression. Twenty six had received professional counseling while in prison. Of the six participants who were already taking a psychotropic medication at the time of imprisonment, four received medication after being imprisoned. Approximately half, (52%) of participants were dissatisfied with prison health care. Conclusions: Despite the high prevalence of depression among prison inmates, few cases are detected and treated. Prison staff may not recognize depression as a mental disorder, and the mental health care available is generally poor. Inadequate mental health and social care not only affects prison inmates’ well-being, but may also impact recidivism and health outcomes upon release. Prison inmates should be screened routinely for depression and other less-commonly recognized mental health conditions, and appropriate treatment made available.