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Biomedical subjects

P Coppo

Publications and source records attributed to P Coppo.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Mental disorders and health care seeking in Bandiagara: a community survey in the Dogon Plateau.

A two-level community study was carried out among the Peul and Dogon populations of the Bandiagara plateau (Mali). For the purpose of the study the Questionnaire pour le depistage en santé mentale (QDSM), a 23-item screening questionnaire derived from the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), was adapted and validated; internal consistency and accuracy were evaluated. In the first phase of the study, 466 subjects randomly selected on a residential basis were evaluated by means of the QDSM. In the second phase all subjects who were "positive" at the screening, as well as a sample who were "negative", were examined by means of a semistructured interview. When necessary, clinical and laboratory investigations were performed. The estimated prevalence of psychiatric cases was 6.4%. A significant risk was associated with age and education. Somatic diseases frequently associated with psychiatric disorders were genitourinary tract disorders, tuberculosis and disabling cardiopathies. The main factor determining the seeking of medical help either through traditional of conventional health systems was the presence of a somatic disorder. The presence of a true minor psychiatric disorder, however, was often associated with divining practices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Perceived morbidity and health behaviour in a Dogon community.

The episodes of morbidity over a 6 month period were recorded at 179 households comprising 1715 people living in the district of Bandiagara (Mali). This population was subdivided into groups according to their distances from the nearest district health centre and educational services, their scholarization, socio-economic and hygiene levels. The subjects interviewed were asked to report illnesses using their vernacular names, the type of therapy selected, the decision process, the time-lapse between onset and remedial action, the treatment undergone and its effect. Subsequent analysis of the data recorded indicates that the frequency of morbidity episodes is inversely proportionate to the household's level of hygiene. It also appears that factors such as the household's hygienic, socio-economic and educational levels along with the type of illness and its duration, are more decisive when resorting (or not resorting) to treatment than is the proximity factor. This seems particularly true in the case of traditional medicine, chosen even where cosmopolitan resources are available and by people with a relatively high socio-economic, hygienic and educational level. In the specific situation under study this paper indicates those areas for further study with a view to improving public health education.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Prevalence of mental disorders in Tuscany: a community study in Lari (Pisa).

A number of population studies of mental disorders has been carried out using standardized diagnostic tools. We performed a study of this type in the small town of Lari (Pisa) with the objectives of estimating the prevalence of mental disorders, including "minor" disorders, and of comparing our estimates with similar studies carried out in UK and Greece using identical methods (PSE-IX and CATEGO). The prevalence of individuals with mental disorders in our study population was 15.4% similar to that observed in Greece (16%) and higher than that observed in London (10%). Prevalence of "obsessive neurosis" was higher in London as compared to Lari and Athens, while the opposite was true for "generalized anxiety".

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Ethnopsychiatric observations apropos of the ritualization of deviation].

The author compares certain aspects of "conventional" and "traditional" psychiatry, on the basis of observations carried out within different traditional African cultures, particularly referring to ritual practices that have as object the treatment of mental disorders. The author underlines the importance of the attitude of the traditional healer. Nevertheless he stresses the major role played by the social structure that represents the frame of any therapeutic action.

Africa↗