Screening for Common Mental Disorders in Caregivers of Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition in a Nutritional Rehabilitation Center using WHO Self-reporting Questionnaire-20

Abstract

Many caregivers of children admitted for inpatient treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), experience mental health issues. Identification of these caregivers using WHO Self-reporting questionnaire 20 score to screen for common mental disorders (CMD) was done. This was carried out in an NRC situated in an urban tertiary children’s hospital, revealing a total of 29.1% of the caregivers who screened positive for CMD. Maternal mental health is widely neglected, especially in an NRC setting and underlying mental stressors can be significant contributors to the child’s malnourished state and should be addressed.