Knowledge of Depression Among Community Members and Health Care Providers in Two Selected Areas of District Rawalpindi

Objective: To determine the level of knowledge about depression in two selected areas of district Rawalpindi. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey report. Place and Duration of Study: Union council Rehmatabad and mohalla Sultanpura, Rawalpindi, from June to December 2007. Methodology: Strata of community were interviewed regarding the knowledge about depression using an indigenously developed questionnaire. To determine any association between difference of level of knowledge and different strata of community Chi-square (X)(2) tests was applied at 5% level of significance and p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Most of the respondents (63%) thought that diabetes was the major health problem in our country. Most of participants thought that drug abuse and addiction (74.3%), adolescent emotional and behavioral problems (66.8%) followed by alcohol abuse (50.3%) and personality disorders (49.2%) were the common mental illnesses. Chi-square (X)(2) statistics showed a highly significant association between difference of level of knowledge and the two strata of community i.e. health care providers and community members (p < 0.001). Conclusion: People in the selected areas of district Rawalpindi had a poor knowledge about depression.