Assessment of religious coping and psychological distress as screening tools in community mental health services

Objective: To assess the use of SRQ-20 and RCOPE as complementary tools to the Nursing Process. Methods: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study carried out with 313 adults from two therapeutic communities (Therapeutic communities are usually residential facilities in which the community structure and function are agents of change. Community members progress through varying roles and responsibilities in their recovery and collectively ensure day-to-day functioning of the community.).  and a community mental health treatment unit, located in two cities in northern Paraná (Brazil). Results: The sample consisted of 313 individuals, aged between 18 and 68 years (M = 36.87, SD = 13.21). The majority of participants (57.9%) were female, of east-asian descent (35.7%), with a socioeconomic level equivalent to US$252.48 (65.8%) and incomplete secondary education (60%). Of the sample, 43.4% (n = 136) had a depressive disorder and 23.7% (n = 74) had an anxiety disorder. As for suicidal behavior, 52.1% of the participants mentioned having suicidal ideation at some point in their lives. Of those with ideation (n = 163), more than half (54.6%) reported not seeking help in times of crisis. Based on the frequencies obtained using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), 41.9% of the subjects obtained a score of 8 points, representing the cut-off point for risk of mental disorders. Regarding the hours of religious practices carried out by the participant (measured in weekly hours), the average obtained was 2.70 hours. Conclusions: The application of the SRQ-20 helped identify that 48.58% of the individuals were classified as suffering from psychological distress. The early identification of signs of suffering and religious coping strategies have proven to be beneficial and necessary for the nurse's work process, as it adds better direction to the anamnesis and also to the alignment of the health team in promoting comprehensive care, including aspects of the spiritual dimension in nursing care.