Mental disorders, disability and treatment gap in a protracted refugee setting

Studies have shown high levels of distress and mental disorder among people living in refugee camps, yet none has confirmed diagnosis through clinical reappraisal. To estimate the prevalence of mental disorders, related disability and treatment gap in adult refugees living in the Burj el-Barajneh ca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychiatry 2014-03, Vol.204 (3), p.208-213
Main Authors: Llosa, Augusto E., Ghantous, Zeina, Souza, Renato, Forgione, Fabio, Bastin, Pierre, Jones, Alison, Antierens, Annick, Slavuckij, Andrei, Grais, Rebecca F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diagnosis
Disability
Disability Evaluation
Female
General aspects
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Intellectual deficiency
Lebanon - epidemiology
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Mental health services
Prevalence
Psychiatric disorders
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Refugees
Refugees - psychology
Young Adult
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Summary:Studies have shown high levels of distress and mental disorder among people living in refugee camps, yet none has confirmed diagnosis through clinical reappraisal. To estimate the prevalence of mental disorders, related disability and treatment gap in adult refugees living in the Burj el-Barajneh camp. Randomly selected participants were screened by household representative (n = 748) and individual (n = 315) interviews; clinical reappraisal was performed on a subset (n = 194) of 326 selected participants. Weighted prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The prevalence of current mental disorders was 19.4% (95% CI 12.6-26.2); depression was the most common diagnosis (8.3%, 95% CI 4.4-12.2) and multiple diagnoses were common (42%) among the 88 persons with mental disorder. Lifetime prevalence of psychosis was 3.3% (95% CI 1.0-5.5). Mental disorders were associated with moderate to severe dysfunction (odds ratio = 8.8, 95% CI 4.5-17.4). The treatment gap was 96% (95% CI 92-100). A range of mental disorders and associated disability are common in this long-term refugee setting. Combined with an important treatment gap, findings support the current consensus-based policy to prioritise availability of mental health treatment in refugee camps, especially for the most severe and disabling conditions.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.bp.112.120535