Pathways to psychiatric care in Bangladesh

Introduction The pattern of care seeking of psychiatric patients is important for service and policy issues. We conducted a study in 2008 in Bangladesh to find out the referral patterns, delays to reach mental health professional (MHP), diagnoses and treatment received before reaching psychiatric care etc. Materials and methods We interviewed 50 consecutive new patients at the Psychiatry outpatient department of a tertiary hospital using the translated version of WHO pathway encounter form. Results 84% of the patients we interviewed consulted other carers before they arrived at a MHP (2.5-3.1 steps were needed to reach MHP) and the range of delay was 8-78 weeks (indirect pathway). 16% of the patients came directly to a MHP with mean delay of 10.5…