Abstract
BACKGROUND: Depression is a significant global public health concern, affecting individuals across different age groups and cultural backgrounds. However, screening for depression remains an essential but often neglected aspect of healthcare, particularly in outpatient settings. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression among outpatients visiting the internal medicine department of the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali in Rwanda and evaluate the feasibility of implementing a depression screening program in this setting. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed, involving 300 adult medical outpatients through convenience sampling, aged 18 years and above, who visited the internal medicine department between October 7 to November 6, 2019. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used as the screening tool to assess depressive symptoms. Additionally, socio-demographic and clinical data were collected to explore potential risk factors associated with depression using a binary logistic regression model. RESULTS: A high prevalence of depression was identified among internal medicine outpatients, with 45.7% of participants screened positive for depression, with moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression accounting for 21%, 17%, and 8%, respectively. The following factors were significantly associated with positive screening for depression: lack of formal education (OR=4.463, p=0.011, 95% CI= [1.410; 14.127]), secondary education (OR=3.402, p=0.003, 95% CI= [1.517; 7.630]), low-income (OR=2.392, p=0.049, 95% CI= [1.003; 5.706]) and headache as a chief complaint (OR=3.611, p=0.001, CI= [1.718; 7.591]). CONCLUSION: This study highlights the high prevalence of depression among medical outpatients. Due to the stigma associated with mental health, patients frequently seek help for physical symptoms such as headaches and other bodily complaints rather than mental health concerns. Introducing routine depression screening in medical departments could potentially facilitate early identification, and intervention, and lead to improved patient care. Future research should focus on evaluating such screening programs' effectiveness and long-term outcomes in resource-limited settings like Rwanda.