Food insecurity among people with severe mental disorder in a rural Ethiopian setting: a comparative, population-based study

Abstract

Efforts to alleviate food insecurity need to target people with SMD as a vulnerable group. Addressing the disabling effects of SMD would also be expected to reduce food insecurity. Access to mental health care integrated into primary care is being expanded in this district as part of the Programme for Improving Mental health carE (PRIME). The impact of treatment on disability and food insecurity will be evaluated.

Food insecurity and work impairment in people with severe mental disorders in a rural district of Ethiopia: a cross-sectional survey

“…In a facility-based, case-control study in India, people with SMD were reported to be more deprived in terms of food insecurity (15.1% higher) compared to their controls [10]. In our previous study, we found that households of people with SMD in a rural district were more likely to be severely food insecure compared to households without a person living with SMD [11].…”

“…No mental health service was available in the district at the time of the study. The data for this study were collected at the baseline of the PRIME intervention [11]. Sodo district was selected for the PRIME study on the basis of sharing characteristics of most districts in Ethiopia [17].…”

Impact of integrated mental health care on food insecurity of households of people with severe mental illness in a rural African district: a community‐based, controlled before–after study

“…For people with SMI living in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), the situation can be particularly stark due to insufficient access to disability payments or other forms of social welfare . Indeed, we found previously that one‐third of households with a person with SMI in a rural Ethiopian community were affected by severe food insecurity, an extreme manifestation of poverty . This level of food insecurity was significantly higher than that seen in the general population.…”

“…Recruitment procedures have been described in detail previously . In brief, community key informants detected people with possible SMI and referred them to the nearest health centre for assessment and initiation of treatment by the trained PHC worker.…”

“…For lay interviewer‐administered measures, experience of negative discrimination was measured using the ‘unfair treatment’ sub‐scale of the discrimination and stigma scale‐12 (DISC‐12) . After adaptation , 17 items were summed to give a total score indicating the extent of experienced discrimination. Physical impairment was measured using the brief physical impairment checklist on items from the Washington Group General Disability Measure and the Family and Wellbeing Index .…”