Psychological distress among Vietnamese adults attending Vietnamese-speaking general practices in South Western Sydney: prevalence and associations.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of psychological distress among Vietnamese adults attending Vietnamese-speaking general practices and explore possible risk factors in this population.Methods: A cross-sectional survey of Vietnamese adult patients was conducted at 25 general practices with Vietnamese-speaking general practitioners (GPs) in south-western Sydney between October 2012 and February 2013. Patients completed the Kessler (K10) scale and a demographic questionnaire, available in Vietnamese or English. Data were analysed using SPSS version 21.Results: Of the 350 patients invited to participate, 247 completed surveys (response rate 71%). One-quarter (25%) of participants had a very high K10 score for psychological distress, nearly twice that reported in the NSW Health Survey. Participants with high exposure to trauma were at increased risk of psychological distress (odds ratio 5.9, 95% confidence interval 2.4-14.4; P < 0.0001) compared with those with mild or no trauma exposure. Similarly, risk was increased if there was a past history of mental health problems and a lack of personal and social support.Conclusion: The high prevalence of mental health problems in adult Vietnamese people attending Vietnamese-speaking general practices is associated with exposure to trauma. This highlights the importance of personal, social and professional support in effective management. Vietnamese-speaking GPs who see Vietnamese or similar refugee groups should actively seek out a history of exposure to trauma, a past history of mental illness and the existence of support systems.

[1]  E. van Ginneken,et al.  Mental health in Vietnam: Burden of disease and availability of services. , 2011, Asian journal of psychiatry.

[2]  D. Silove,et al.  Long-term mental health of Vietnamese refugees in the aftermath of trauma , 2010, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[3]  N. Zwar,et al.  Anxiety and depression in Chinese patients attending an Australian GP clinic. , 2009, Australian family physician.

[4]  J. Danesh,et al.  Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review , 2005, The Lancet.

[5]  Thomas Elbert,et al.  Psychological trauma and evidence for enhanced vulnerability for posttraumatic stress disorder through previous trauma among West Nile refugees , 2004, BMC psychiatry.

[6]  Adrian Bauman,et al.  Long-term effect of psychological trauma on the mental health of Vietnamese refugees resettled in Australia: a population-based study , 2002, The Lancet.

[7]  Henry Chung,et al.  Cultural factors influencing the mental health of Asian Americans. , 2002, The Western journal of medicine.

[8]  H. Lublin,et al.  [Diagnosis and treatment of depression in general practice. A questionnaire study]. , 2002, Ugeskrift for laeger.

[9]  B. Arroll,et al.  Depression in patients in an Auckland general practice. , 2002, The New Zealand medical journal.

[10]  G. Andrews,et al.  Interpreting scores on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) , 2001, Australian and New Zealand journal of public health.

[11]  T. Phan.  Investigating the Use of Services for Vietnamese with Mental Illness , 2000, Journal of Community Health.

[12]  R. Kessler,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. , 1995, Archives of general psychiatry.

[13]  M. Chesney,et al.  Predictors of depression among refugees from Vietnam: a longitudinal study of new arrivals. , 1997, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.