A descriptive study to assess the prevalence of depression among general population of selected rural community area, Jalandhar, Punjab

Depression is an illness that affects both the mind and the body and is a leading cause of disability, workplace absenteeism, decreased productivity and high suicide rates. We are not aware of a study on depression from India covering the general population. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of depression among general population.

A quantitative and non-experimental research design was adopted to assess the prevalence of depression among general population in selected rural community area. A standardised tool, Beck's depression inventory was used to collect data from subjects.

Adescriptive study was conducted on 60 subjects of general population in selected rural community area to assess the prevalence of depression, Jalandhar, Punjab. Pilot study was conducted on 10 subjects to ensure the reliability of the tool and feasibility of the study. The data was collected in the third week of May, 2017. The result shows that 28.3% of general population was suffering from depression(scored above 17 according to Beck's Depression Inventory). The association between depression and selected demographic variables (age, gender, family type, socio-economic status and marital status) was determined by using parametric “t”-test and “F”-test to establish statistical significance. The socio-economic status and family type was statistically significant with depression at 5% level of significance i.e. they have influence on depression.

The study highlights the increasing prevalence of depression among general population in selected community area. We recommend that the population must be made aware of this problem so that effective copying mechanisms can be adapted to relinquish its ill effects.