Performance of a Likert adaptation of the SRQ-20 scale among women victims of intimate partner violence in Colombia: an exploratory study.

Women who are victims of intimate partner violence often suffer of depression and anxiety disorders. We evaluated the performance of the SRQ-20 scale (screening test for common mental health disorders), in women victims of intimate partner violence by male partners. A total of 100 women were surveyed from the out-patient mental health services in four health institutions in Valle del Cauca (Colombia). SRQ-20 scales (Binary version versus Likert version) were compared with mental health diagnoses based on the HSCL-25 scale, as the gold standard. Optimal SRQ-20 cut-off score is > = 6 points; lower than the initially suggested, sensitivity of 96.6% and specificity of 90.9%. The new SRQ-20-Likert scale, establishing a cut-off of > = 8 points, shows better sensitivity (98.9%) and equal specificity than the original scale. Studied SRQ-20 scales are promising instruments for screening mental health disorders among women victims of intimate partner violence in primary health care settings.

Characterisation of Community Mental Health Consultations in a Primary Care Centre in Cali, Colombia. / Caracterización de la consulta de salud mental comunitaria de un centro de atención primaria en Cali, Colombia.

OBJECTIVE: To characterise community mental health consultations in a primary care centre in Cali, Colombia. METHODS: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. A secondary database was used, systematically recording patients seen in the community outpatient clinic, and a description of the information recorded therein was prepared. All the records available in the database were used. The data were processed using Microsoft Excel and the program SPSS 25 was used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: 481 consultations were conducted, of which 272 were first time consultations; in total 383 patients were seen, which indicates that 1.26 consultations were carried out per patient. The average age of the patients who consulted was 43.5±21.7 years. Sixty-one point five percent of the consultations were for women, while adulthood was the stage of life in which the highest percentage (51.8%) attended. The most common socioeconomic stratum was 1, which indicates that this institution serves above all the low-income population. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study allowed us to recognise the main reasons for consultation in the community mental health service, a necessary input to design and develop preventive programmes that promote and strengthen community-based rehabilitation strategies.