ABSTRACT
Mohammad Sayadul Islam Mullick · Robert Goodman
111 Abstract Background No previous epidemiological studies of child m ental health have been conducted in Bangladesh, partly due to lack of suitable measures. M ethods A Bangla translation of a standardised child psychiatric interview, the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA), was validated against routine clinical diagnoses on a consecutive series of 100 referrals to a child m ental health service. A two-phase study of prevalence was applied to random samples of 5-to 10-year-olds (N=922) drawn from three contrasting areas: a rural area, a m oderately prosperous urban area, and an urban slum. Results There was substantial agreement between the DAWBA and the independent clinic diagnosis (kappa~0.63-0.94). The estimated prevalence of any ICD-10 diagnosis was 15% (95% Cl 112 1 %). The rate of obsessive-compulsive disorder was higher than in previous studies. Children from the slum area were significantly more likely to have serious behavioural problems, and marginally more likely to have post-traum atic stress disorder. Conclusion A conservative extrapolation is that around 5 million Bangladeshi children and adolescents have psychiatric disorders. In a country with very few child m ental health professionals, there is a vast gap between need and provision that m ust be addressed.
