@article{ref1,
title="Pattern of care before presentation among the psychiatric emergency cases at a tertiary health care center in Nigeria",
journal="Primary care companion to CNS disorders",
year="2016",
author="Aina, Israel Odunmayowa and Otakpor, Alex Ndubisi and Israel-Aina, Yetunde Tinuola",
volume="18",
number="2",
pages="e1817-e1817",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To determine the pattern of care sought in cases of psychiatric emergency before presentation to a tertiary health care center. <br><br>METHOD: Consecutive recruitment of 180 emergency psychiatric cases, which comprised a total of 156 patients, presenting to the accident and emergency unit of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Edo State, Nigeria, was conducted from June 2008 to January 2009. A structured instrument was used to gather the patients' information including their sociodemographic characteristics, their care before presentation, and the relations accompanying them to the hospital. <br><br>RESULTS: The mean ± SD patient age was 33.82 ± 12.64 years, with an age range of 18-73 years and a modal age of 23 years. The male to female ratio was 1:1.05. Of the patients, 121 (77.6%) were not married, while 35 (22.4%) were married. Most identified as Christian (96.2%). The majority of the patients (70.0%) presented to the hospital through self-referral. Eighty (44.4%) of the patients had not sought any treatment before coming to UBTH. Forty-seven patients (26.1%) had sought care in churches, 39 (21.7%) had sought treatment in other hospitals, and 12 (6.7%) had sought traditional care before presenting to UBTH. Seventy-four patients (41.1%) were accompanied by parents and 44 (24.4%) were accompanied by siblings, while the spouse accompanied 23 (12.8%) patients. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with psychiatric emergencies at UBTH prefer to present directly to the tertiary health care center in Benin City, and they are usually supported by their immediate family members.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2155-7772",
doi="10.4088/PCC.15m01817",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.4088/PCC.15m01817"
}