Depression, suicidality and associated risk factors among police officers in urban Tanzania: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe WHO has classified depression as a disease of public concern. Police officers are a particular subpopulation group that is at an increased risk for mental health problems. This study examined the prevalence of depression, suicidality and associated risk factors among police officers in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	General psychiatry Vol. 34; no. 3; p. e100448
Main Authors:	Njiro, Belinda Jackson, Ndumwa, Harrieth Peter, Msenga, Charles Joseph, Kawala, Thomas, Matola, Ezekiel, Mhonda, Juhudi, Corbin, Hillary, Ubuguyu, Omary, Likindikoki, Samuel
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BMJ Publishing Group LTD 14-06-2021 BMJ Publishing Group
Subjects:	Age Cross-sectional studies Data analysis Data collection Mental depression Mental health Original Research Police stations Population Post traumatic stress disorder Questionnaires Risk factors Sample size Social support Sociodemographics Suicides & suicide attempts Africa Tanzania suicidal ideation suicide depression
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Summary:	BackgroundThe WHO has classified depression as a disease of public concern. Police officers are a particular subpopulation group that is at an increased risk for mental health problems. This study examined the prevalence of depression, suicidality and associated risk factors among police officers in urban Tanzania.AimsThe aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of depression, suicidality and associated risk factors among police officers in Tanzania.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2019 and October 2020 among 550 participants in Dar es Salaam recruited using a multistage cluster sampling technique. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to screen for depression and suicidality. The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-12 tool was used to measure perceived social support. Descriptive statistics were summarised using frequencies and percentages. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to establish associations between predictors of interest, depression and suicidality.ResultsThere were 497 participants in the study. Of these, 76.6% (376 of 491) were men, and the median (IQR) age was 37.0 (17) years. Around 19.8% (96 of 486) of the police officers screened positive for depression and 15.4% (75 of 413) for suicidality. A significant proportion was either moderately (29 of 96, 30.2%) or severely depressed (8 of 75, 10.7 %). Of those who experienced suicidal thoughts, 10.7% (8 of 75) reported having daily suicidal thoughts. Perceiving low social support was associated with an increased risk of reporting depression (adjusted OR (aOR): 28.04, 95% CI: 8.42 to 93.37, p<0.001) and suicidality (aOR: 10.85, 95% CI: 3.56 to 33.08, p<0.001) as compared with those with high perceived social support.ConclusionThe magnitude of depression and suicidality among police officers in urban Tanzania is alarmingly high. The study findings indicate the need for routine screening for depression and suicidality among police officers and design appropriate mental health responsive services in this population.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2517-729X 2096-5923 2517-729X
DOI:	10.1136/gpsych-2020-100448