Nair Hospital starts mental health survey in the city

According to the BMC officials, the survey will cover households in all wards, and cover all social strata to get an appropriate representation of the entire population, including migrants. It also has a section added to cover Covid-19 and related questions

Mumbai: Post Covid-19 pandemic, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) rolled out a large-scale survey in the city to assess the mental health of Mumbaiites. The survey, which is being anchored by the psychiatry department of civic-run BYL Nair Hospital at Mumbai Central, will be interviewing 3,600 Mumbaiites that will be randomly chosen by the software.

While the 2016 survey showed a lifetime prevalence of about 10% of psychiatric disorders in the non-urban areas, and close to 14% in the urban areas, with depression, mood and anxiety disorders, and alcohol use disorder being the highest prevalent conditions in the population, the present survey will also cover Covid-19 related issues. (StockPic)

According to the BMC officials, the survey will cover households in all wards, and cover all social strata to get an appropriate representation of the entire population, including migrants. It also has a section added to cover Covid-19 and related questions.

Dr Hinal Shah, head of the psychiatry department, at Nair Hospital said the survey is part of the Mental Health Survey taken up by the union ministry of Health and Family Welfare. “We started the survey last month and so far interviewed close to 1,000 Mumbaiites. The first national survey was done in 2016 in which megacities like Mumbai were not part,” she said.

While the 2016 survey showed a lifetime prevalence of about 10% of psychiatric disorders in the non-urban areas, and close to 14% in the urban areas, with depression, mood and anxiety disorders, and alcohol use disorder being the highest prevalent conditions in the population, the present survey will also cover Covid-19 related issues.

“Right from school-going children to senior citizens, we are observing that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of people across the age group directly or indirectly. The present survey will be important to understand the impact it has had overall,” Dr Shah said. She added stress levels went up across the age group.

“Someone had job loss stress, some had domestic violence or substance abuse at home related stress. Post lockdown too there were several factors that increased the stress levels. How much of this stress got converted to mental illness is what needs to be seen,” she said.

She added the department of community medicine is helping them connect with the people for the survey.

Dr Avinash Desousa, immediate past president of Bombay Psychiatric Society (BPS) said the survey will shed light on mental health status post-pandemic. “During the pandemic, we all saw a surge in people seeking help for mental health-related issues. The survey will help strengthen the need for a stronger mental health infrastructure,” he said.