KNOWLEDGE AND MANAGEMENT STYLES OF DEPRESSION AMONG SELECTED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH LEADERS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE

Abstract

Depression is one of the major mental health disorders and will rank number one in global burden of disease by year 2030.It manifests in prolong sadness and loss of interest in life activities. The church leaders have no relevant skills required to identify and manage it. Religion plays an important role in the life of an average Nigerian and they will patronize spiritual leaders first before considering professional input. This study investigated the knowledge and management of depression among selected pentecostal church leaders in Ibadan North Local Government Area, (INLGA) Oyo state, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey among 300 selected pentecostal church leaders who are active members of the Nigeria Pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in INLGA Oyo state. Participants were selected by a two-stage sampling techniques. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire with an adapted version of Zung self-rating depression scale were used to collect information on socio-demographic status, knowledge, perception, attitude, management styles and ability to recognise depression. A 29-point knowledge scale was used to assess the knowledge of respondents about depression scores between 0-9, 10≤20 and >20 were categorised as poor, fair and good knowledge, respectively. A 14-point perception scale with scores between 0-7 and >7 were categorised as negative and positive perception, respectively. A 12-point attitude scale with scores between 0-6 and > 6 were categorised as negative and positive attitude, respectively. Ability to recognise depression was scored on a 80-point scale using an adapted version of Zung self-rating depression scale with scores between 0-26, 27≤53 and >53 were considered as poor, fair and good ability to recognise depression, respectively, a 19-point practice scale was used to examine the management styles of the respondents on depression, a practice score of between 0-9 and > 9 were considered as poor and good practice, respectively. Chi- square test and Fisher’s exact test were used to test the level of significance at p value of 0.05 Most respondents (63.3%) were in the age group of 40-59 years with an average age of 49.5±2.2 years, 56.7% were males and 73.3% on part time engagement, only 7.7% were general overseers. The respondents that had good knowledge of depression were 68.3% with 79.7% having positive perception of depression, 89.3% having positive attitude about depression and 63.3% showing good practice of depression management. However few, 21.09 preached on depression weekly, but most 64.7% had good ability to recognizedepression. There was a significant difference between age, level of education, pastoral rank, years of being church leader and knowledge of depression. Most respondents had good knowledge of depression, positive perception and attitude towards depression and a good management practice, but this knowledge is not been integrated into the main policy of the church because leaders believed doing so may affect the active faith lives of the member. This study therefore recommends adequate integration of depression knowledge and its management into policy of the church.