Title : Depression in Jamaican males post COVID-19: Using the hamilton depression rating scale
Abstract:
Introduction: Depression is a common mental illness and a major cause of disability globally. The World Health Organization indicated that it affects approximately 3.8% of the world’s population, which accounts for 280 million persons, 5% of the adult population and 5.7% of the elderly population. Depression rates among males are quite lower in comparison to females.
Objective: This research aims to explore depression in Jamaican men post-COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: A national cross-sectional web-based study design and a standardized web-based questionnaire designed by Dr Max Hamilton were used for this research. The study employed a stratified multistage probability sampling design to retrieve data from thousand sixty-six (1066) male respondents from the 14 parishes.
Results: This study revealed that 52.7% of Jamaican males experienced varying degrees of depression post-COVID-19. Furthermore, findings indicated that 1.1% of the sampled Jamaican males had attempted suicide, 3.4% had had suicidal thoughts, 5.1% wished they were dead, and 24.6% felt life was not worth living.
Conclusion: The study has brought a preview of the mental health challenges experienced by Jamaican males, which speaks to a silent killer that has been nurtured in these individuals' minds. COVID-19 continues to linger with people, and mental health conditions that it has created have a short-to-long-term effect on Jamaican men.
