Attitudes towards people with mental health illness in the Kurdistan region of Iraq: a quantitative study.

People with mental health illnesses are exposed to rejection by community members because of the negative attitudes from people towards them. This study assesses undergraduates' attitudes towards people with mental health illness in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and compares their attitudes with socio-demographic characteristics such as age, gender and academic field of study. A quantitative descriptive study design has been used for this research. A multistage cluster sampling was used for data collection between May to June 2019 from a sample of 361 undergraduate students. A modified version of the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) questionnaire was used for data collection. Undergraduate students from various fields of study have had different attitudes towards people with mental illnesses. Medical students have better understanding and more positive attitudes than students of the other fields. Male students showed more negative attitudes compared to female students. Furthermore, younger students had more negative attitudes than older students.

Assessment of Perinatal Depression Risk among internally displaced Yazidi Women in Iraq: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Yazidi survivors of a 2014 genocidal attack by the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have complex medical and mental health needs in the perinatal and postpartum period. Few studies have assessed perinatal mental health needs for this population of women who are living in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). METHODS: The specific aim of this formative cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of perinatal depressive symptoms, specifically the risk of perinatal depression symptoms, among a purposive sample of Yazidi women living in camps for internally displaced persons in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. One hundred twenty-two pregnant and recently postpartum (<1 year) Yazidi women completed a Kurdish-language version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaire. Pregnant and postpartum participants' responses were analyzed together, in order to assess an overall combined risk of perinatal mental health issues for the study population. Logistic regression analyses were used to measure the association of participant characteristics with an elevated risk of perinatal depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Participants were 17-45 years of age (mean 32 years, SD 7.63) Among the 122 women, 67.2% (n=82) were pregnant and 32.8% (n=40) were <1 year postpartum. Overall, 78% (n=95) of participants were at an elevated risk of depression (EPDS >10), and 53% (n=65) of all participants were at risk of moderate to severe depression (EPDS >12). Thoughts of self-harm (EPDS item 10) were reported among 97% (n=118) of participants. Logistic regression analysis indicated that increased risk of perinatal depressive symptoms was significantly associated with reports of health problems during pregnancy (OR=3.22, 95% [CI]:1.08-9.61) and marital status (OR=16.00; 95% [CI]: 0.42-0.50). Age (OR= 0.84; 95% [CI]: 0.75-0.94) and level of education (OR=0.15; 95% [CI]: 0.42-0.50) had protective effects. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of perinatal depressive symptoms risk among internally displaced Yazid pregnant and postpartum women are higher than the general Kurdish-speaking population in Iraq (28.4%). Culturally responsive trauma informed perinatal and postpartum care services, which include both community-based and clinical strategies for perinatal depressive symptoms and suicide prevention for this population, are critically needed.

Psychometric properties of the Kurdish version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.

BACKGROUND: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a standardized questionnaire that used for subjective assessment of sleep quality. It has been translated into several languages and is widely used in clinical research settings. Since there is no sleep-related scale standardized in the Kurdish language, the present study aimed to translate and validate the PSQI into Kurdish. METHODS: First, the PSQI was successfully translated into Kurdish then back-translated into English by independent professional bilingual translators. The translated version of PSQI was tested with 230 participants, 150 healthy subjects, 40 subjects with insomnia, and 40 subjects with physical symptoms. Internal consistency was calculated by the Cronbach Alpha method using SPSS-20 software. Spearman correlation via a test-retest process was used for reliability. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ28) was used to analyze criterion validity. The construct validity of the scale was tested by exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Factor weight was checked by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using LISREL software version 8.8. RESULTS: The internal consistency and reliability for PSQI global score was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.70). The result showed a strong correlation between test and retest after six weeks (r = 0.83). Correlations between the global score and components of the PSQI with the GHQ28 were all statistically significant (r = 0.23-0.72, p < 0.05). Exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors with a significant correlation between the PSQI global score and these factors. All factor weights were above 0.40. CONCLUSION: The results of this study support the PSQI's validity and reliability. This study offers a foundation for further studies in Kurdish populations.