title: Predictors of depression among a sample of South African mortuary workers.
abstract: Mortuary workers are at high risk of developing depression and other psychiatric disorders owing to the nature of their work and exposure to deceased victims of violent deaths. Few studies have investigated mental health among mortuary workers in low- and middle-income countries. Participants (N = 45) were recruited from mortuaries in South Africa and completed a battery of questionnaires measuring depression, physical health, perceived stress, fear of blood/injury/mutilation, and resilience. Participants with self-reported depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comprised 13.3% and 4.4% of the sample, respectively. Inexperienced mortuary workers had a higher prevalence rate of depression (16.7%) compared with experienced workers (9.5%). Prevalence of PTSD did not differ significantly between inexperienced (4.2%) and experienced (4.8%) workers. Physical health, perceived stress, fear of blood/injury/mutilation, and resilience were significant predictors of depression in the combined group (experienced and inexperienced). However, perceived stress was the only significant predictor of depression, in multiple regression, in the combined group. Inexperienced workers had significantly higher levels of blood/injury/mutation fear and depression. Mortuary workers seem to be at increased risk of depression, especially inexperienced workers. Perceived poor health, lower levels of resilience, and blood/injury/mutilation fears may lead to increased perceived stress among mortuary workers, which may, in turn, lead to depression. Interventions focused on promoting mental health may be beneficial to all mortuary workers, and preparatory training related to mental health may be beneficial to inexperienced mortuary workers before occupational uptake.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Jani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nöthling
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ganasen
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seedat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009027:Mortuary Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult