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Background: The presence of psychiatric morbidity in the child and adolescent age group is demonstrable in various studies conducted in various settings in Kenya. This study set out to determine the psychiatric morbidity and socio-demographic profile of patients who eventually present for care at a tertiary specialist child and adolescent mental health clinic in Kenya. Knowledge of the patterns of presentation of disorders is crucial for planning of service scale up as well as serving as a useful training guide. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study of 166 patients and their guardians presenting to the child and adolescent mental health clinics at a tertiary referral hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Data was collected using a researcher designed socio-demographic questionnaire and the Kiddie-schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia-present and lifetime (KSADS-PL 2009 Working Draft) and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists. Results: There were more males (56%) than females in this study and the participant's mean age was 13.6 years. Substance abuse disorders were the most prevalent presentation (30.1%) followed by depressive disorders (13.9%), with most referrals to the clinic coming from medical practitioners and teachers. The mean time to accessing care at the clinic after the onset of symptoms was 16.6 months, with the longest time taken to specialist care being 183 months. Conclusions: The findings from this study will go a long way to support the establishment of programs that improve timely child and adolescent mental health service delivery. The involvement of various stakeholders such as the education sector and the community is key in the development of these programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with recognized, diagnosable mental and neurological disorders are in addition prone to emotional and behavioral problems which transcend their specific diagnostic labels. In accessing care, these children are almost invariably accompanied by caregivers (usually mothers) who may also have mental health problems, notably depression. The relationship between child and maternal psychopathology has however not been sufficiently researched especially in low and middle income countries. Methods: Mothers (n = 100) of children receiving care at the Child and Adolescent Clinic of a Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Abeokuta, Nigeria took part in the study. To each consenting mother was administered a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire, while information regarding their children (n = 100) was obtained using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Data analysis was done with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. Results: The mean ages of the mothers and children were 40.4 years (SD 4.7) and 11.6 years (SD 4.1), respectively. Among the children, 63 % had a main diagnosis of seizure disorder. Regardless of main diagnosis, 40 % of all the children had a comorbid diagnosis. Among the mothers, 23 % had major depressive disorder. A quarter (25 %) of the children had abnormal total SDQ scores. A diagnosis of major depressive disorder in mothers was associated with poor total SDQ scores and poor scores in all SDQ domains except the emotional domain for the children. Major depressive disorder among the mothers was associated with not being married (p = 0.004; OR = 0.142, 95 % CI 0.037-0.546) and longer duration of the child's illness (p = 0.039, OR = 1.165, 95 % CI 1.007-1.346). Conclusion: The study showed notable rates of depressive illness among mothers of children with neuropsychiatric disorders. Marked rates of emotional and behavioral disorders were also found among the children. Associations were found between maternal and child psychopathology. Mothers of children with neuropsychiatric disorders should be screened for depressive illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]