Mental Health Status and Socio-demographic Profile of Tribal Populations in Jharkhand

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the socio demographic profile and mental health status of the males during COVID-19 in three tribal districts of Jharkhand. The survey was undertaken between June 2021 and December 2022. It was largely representative of the population as 74,318 persons were screened in 3 the districts of Khunti, Simdega and Dumka. The survey population was aged 15 to 65 years. 74,318 people were screened for anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts (if scores severe on screening). Conditions which they were facing were explored by a semi structured script accompanied with PHQ4 as a screening tool. This paper presents findings for the pattern and sociodemographic profile of the persons screened. Inferences and conclusion: Female contributed higher proportions of mental health issues. Unmarried, divorced, separated and widowed people reported to face higher proportions of moderate and severe mental issues. Unemployed people and students reported higher proportions of moderate and severe mental issues.