Child psychiatric disorders in a primary care Arab population.

Objectives: Physical and psychiatric comorbidity is relatively common in general practice but there have been few systematic studies using clinical interviews of children attending the primary care services in the Arab population, and none from the Gulf countries. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and nature of child psychiatric morbidity in primary care in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Method: Systematic psychiatric evaluations were carried out on consecutive children aged 6 to 18 years visiting their primary care doctors in Al Ain.

Personality profile among primary care patients: experimenting with the Arabic IPDE ICD-10.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of personality disorder (PD) among primary health care (PHC) patients, and to investigate the characteristic features of the International Personality Disorder Examination, the ICD-10 module (IPDE ICD-10).

Method: A sample (n = 158) PHC patients in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were interviewed by general practitioners (GPs) using the Arabic version of the IPDE ICD-10.

Results: Patients interviewed were 82 males and 76 females.

Somatized mental disorder among primary care Arab patients: I. Prevalence and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics.

The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of somatized mental disorder (SMD) in comparison to psychologized mental disorder (PMD) among a sample of primary health care (PHC) Arab patients, and to investigate the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of SMD. The first stage of study was conducted by general practitioners (GPs), using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The second stage was carried out by a psychiatrist using the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) and an inquiry schedule.

Doing randomized controlled trials in a developing country: some practical realities.

Background: Formal randomized controlled trial results are often reported. The difficulties of doing such trial are not. Developing countries represent a new field in which trials can be undertaken.