Predictors of Depression among Sexually Assaulted Survivors Azttending Mnazi Mmoja Hospital Zanzibar.

Issa, Sabrina Ali (2023) Predictors of Depression among Sexually Assaulted Survivors Azttending Mnazi Mmoja Hospital Zanzibar. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

Depression has been consistently identified to be the most commonly reported mental health effect of sexual abuse, affecting both developed and developing countries. However, it has remained to be understudied area, despite an alarming increase in the rate of suicide attempts among sexually assaulted survivors. Thus, the present study identified the predictors of depression among sexually assaulted survivors attending MnaziMmoja Hospital.A cross-sectional study was conducted at one stop centre of MnaziMmoja hospital-Zanzibar. Sexual assaulted survivors aged 12-years and above were eligible for participation. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic, sexual assault related characteristics and a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to screen for depression. A logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify predictors for depression among sexually assaulted survivors. A total of 100 sexually assaulted survivors were enrolled in the study. Their mean (±SD) age was 18.29 (±5.64) years, majority were female (68.0%), not married (77.0%) with secondary education (56.0%) and not employed (80.0%). Predictors for depression were marital status and weapon use during the sexual assault. Therefore, this study has revealed that, being married and weapon use during sexual assaults increased the risk of developing depression among sexual assaulted survivors. This urge for additional resources to increase mental health care among survivors of sexual violence. Key words:Depression; predictors; sexually assaulted survivors; Zanzibar

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