Factors Influencing Depression Among Somali Men:

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. The prevalence of depression around the world remains high with 350 million people suffering from the mental disorder (WHO, 2016). Similarly in Uganda depression is a major public health concern especially for populations living in refugee camps with a high prevalence rate of 61.7% (Senyonga et al, 2015). With the very high prevalence of depression among Somali men this results in constant sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. Therefore, this study seeks to determine the factors influencing depression among Somali men in Nakivale camp. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducting using quantitative methods involving 384 Somali men in Nakivale refugee camp. Results: The proportion of Somali men in Nakivale refugee camp who were found to be suffering from depression was high at 48%. Among those who had depression a significant proportion (28%) of men had high levels of depression while 20% had features that were suggestive of the depression syndrome. Discussion: Individual factors such as age (X²=12.745, p=0.001); average monthly income (X²=9.314, p=0.012); being enthusiastic about life (X²=12.963, p=0.002) and having knowledge on the causes of depression (X²=9.421, p=0.001) were found to have a statistically significant association (p<0.05) with the prevalence of depression among Somali men. Environmental factors such as availability of food within the camp (X²=8.423, p=0.031), having health care services (X²=10.314, p=0.011), physical organization of the camp (X²=5.121, p=0.042) and distance from homeland (X²=11.311, p=0.001) were found to have a statistically significantly association (p<0.05) with the prevalence of depression. Recommendations: Therefore, the government and other development partners should increase awareness about the existence of depression among Somali men in Nakivale refugee camp as well as provide information that will increase knowledge of the men in the camp on how to prevent, control and manage depression.