{"title":"Sex differences in help-seeking behavior for depression in Lesotho: findings from a national survey.","authors":"Joshua Okyere, Castro Ayebeng, Kwamena Sekyi Dickson","doi":"10.1186/s12888-025-06749-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Given the many adverse health outcomes associated with depression, it is imperative to promote help-seeking behaviors. However, in Lesotho, there are no published studies that have investigated the help-seeking dynamics for depression. As such, the following questions remain unanswered: (a) What proportion of people living with depression in Lesotho seek help? (b) Are there significant sex differences in the factors associated with help-seeking for depression? To address these questions, we examined the prevalence and sex differences in the factors associated with help-seeking for depression in Lesotho.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Secondary data from the 2023-2024 Lesotho demographic and health survey was used. We sampled 2172 men and 1484 women. Binary logistic regression models were fitted in STATA 18. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, the proportion of women who sought help for depression was slightly higher (17.1% [14.4-20.3]) compared to men (16.4% [14.3-18.8]). More women (43.6%) sought help for depression from formal help providers than men. Likewise, more than half of male participants (60%) sought help from informal sources. Among men, those with moderate depression had significantly higher odds of seeking help (AOR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.56-2.61). Help-seeking was also more likely among men with secondary education (AOR = 1.98, 95%CI: 1.13-3.47), those currently in a union (AOR = 1.85, 95%CI: 1.41-2.42) or previously in a union (AOR = 2.30, 95%CI: 1.54-3.45), and those in the richest wealth index (AOR = 1.64, 95%CI: 1.06-2.53). Among women, moderate (AOR = 2.41, 95%CI: 1.76-3.32) and severe depression (AOR = 3.42, 95%CI: 2.26-5.18) significantly increased help-seeking likelihood. Women aged 45-59 years (AOR = 2.46, 95%CI: 1.36-4.45), exposed to media (AOR = 1.63, 95%CI: 1.21-2.19), or consuming alcohol (AOR = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.01-1.84) also had higher odds of seeking help.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Help-seeking for depression is low among men and women in Lesotho. However, the factors associated with help-seeking differ by sex. Among women, leveraging the media could yield more effective outcomes; among men, addressing poverty and improving education could prove effective in improving help-seeking for depression. The study also underscores a need to focus on harnessing the potential of informal support networks.</p>","PeriodicalId":9029,"journal":{"name":"BMC Psychiatry","volume":"25 1","pages":"290"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11948660/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMC Psychiatry","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06749-9","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Given the many adverse health outcomes associated with depression, it is imperative to promote help-seeking behaviors. However, in Lesotho, there are no published studies that have investigated the help-seeking dynamics for depression. As such, the following questions remain unanswered: (a) What proportion of people living with depression in Lesotho seek help? (b) Are there significant sex differences in the factors associated with help-seeking for depression? To address these questions, we examined the prevalence and sex differences in the factors associated with help-seeking for depression in Lesotho.
Methods: Secondary data from the 2023-2024 Lesotho demographic and health survey was used. We sampled 2172 men and 1484 women. Binary logistic regression models were fitted in STATA 18. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results: Overall, the proportion of women who sought help for depression was slightly higher (17.1% [14.4-20.3]) compared to men (16.4% [14.3-18.8]). More women (43.6%) sought help for depression from formal help providers than men. Likewise, more than half of male participants (60%) sought help from informal sources. Among men, those with moderate depression had significantly higher odds of seeking help (AOR = 2.02, 95%CI: 1.56-2.61). Help-seeking was also more likely among men with secondary education (AOR = 1.98, 95%CI: 1.13-3.47), those currently in a union (AOR = 1.85, 95%CI: 1.41-2.42) or previously in a union (AOR = 2.30, 95%CI: 1.54-3.45), and those in the richest wealth index (AOR = 1.64, 95%CI: 1.06-2.53). Among women, moderate (AOR = 2.41, 95%CI: 1.76-3.32) and severe depression (AOR = 3.42, 95%CI: 2.26-5.18) significantly increased help-seeking likelihood. Women aged 45-59 years (AOR = 2.46, 95%CI: 1.36-4.45), exposed to media (AOR = 1.63, 95%CI: 1.21-2.19), or consuming alcohol (AOR = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.01-1.84) also had higher odds of seeking help.
Conclusion: Help-seeking for depression is low among men and women in Lesotho. However, the factors associated with help-seeking differ by sex. Among women, leveraging the media could yield more effective outcomes; among men, addressing poverty and improving education could prove effective in improving help-seeking for depression. The study also underscores a need to focus on harnessing the potential of informal support networks.
期刊介绍:
BMC Psychiatry is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of the prevention, diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology.