Gender Differences in Depressive Disorder Among Civil Servants of Public Service Under Government of Nepal

Abstract

This study aims to measure prevalence of depression among civil servants of public service in central Nepal from gender perspectives. Zung Depression Scale was used to measure the depression among randomly selected 161 civil servants em­ployed in public service under government of Nepal in Kathmandu and Chitwan districts. Three-fourth of the respondents (74.5%) were normal, 19.3% had minimal to mild depression, 4.3% had moderate to marked depression, and 1.9% had severe to extreme depression. Among women, 4.2% had severe to extreme depression, while 29.2% had minimal to mild depression and 66.7% were normal. Among men, 1.5% had severe to extreme depression, 5.1% had moderate to marked depression, 17.5% had minimal to mild depression and 75.9% were normal. Women were at 1.58 times higher risk of depres­sion than that of men (0.56<OR>4.37). From high prevalence of depression among the civil servants of public service, it is apparent that mental health problem needs immediate attention in workplace. As women workers were more likely to have severe to extreme form of depression, appropriate gender-friendly workplace policies and strategies should be designed to address the mental health of public service providers in Nepal.

Journal of Chitwan Medical College 2013; 3(1): 18-21

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmc.v3i1.8460