La dépression du sujet âgé au Burkina Faso : pourquoi la demande de soins n'est-elle pas formulée ?

In the elderly, depression is the most frequent disease among mental disorders. Studies regularly report a prevalence of 1 to 3% of major depressive episodes after the age of 65. In Burkina Faso, the frequency of depression is not known. A study performed over period going from January 1st, 1988 to December 31st, 2007 at the Yalgado Ouédraogo (CHU-YO) Hospital complex reported only 57 cases of depression in subjects aged 60 and more. In spite of the presence of qualified mental health workers in the service of psychiatry, 34.0% of cases did not return after the first consultation. Several patients where taken back to their villages. This resistance for requesting care is linked to the social status of the old person who is obliged to control his/her language and behaviour, and not allowed to express their suffering or to complain. The mental incapacity of the aged person is considered as a punishment by the forefathers for a past or present unacceptable behaviour, or for the faults in their ascending or descending offspring. Minimal traditional care is provided; the community preferring to apply the process of return towards the forefathers.