Mental health status and service assessment for Syrian adult refugee population resettled in Metropolitan Atlanta: A cross-sectional survey Open Access

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The war in Syria generated the biggest influx of refugees since World War II. The United States welcomed 20,017 Syrian refugees in 6 years. Mental health illnesses are a big burden on the refugee population. We aimed to assess the mental status of the Syrian refugee population in Metropolitan Atlanta and the mental health care services. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 25 participants between June 2016 and March 2017 in Metropolitan Atlanta.

We used a questionnaire of 90 closed and partially closed ended questions. We used the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist 25 and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-8.

Our findings showed high rates of anxiety symptoms (60%), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (84%) and depression (44%). However, only 20% of the participants went to see a mental health professional. The main reasons for not seeking professional help were a lack of information and access to transportation. The lack of information expressed by our study participants is reflecting both a language barrier and a lack of active counselling and orientation offered to the refugees. This may indicate a lack of awareness from the resettlement agencies and health institutions.

This study is the first to be conducted on mental health of resettled Syrian refugees in the U.S. These findings suggest that there is an obvious need for a larger study that would assess the real magnitude of psychological distress among this population in order to guide a public health intervention.

Table of Contents

T TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…...5 Acknowledgements……..…………………………………………………………………………...…...6 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………….………8

Literature Review

Introduction.………………………………………………………….…………………….……..9 Pre-migration………………………………………………………………………..……...…..10 Migration - Displacement …………………………………………………………………11

Psychological distress and mental health disorders………………………….. 12

US resettlement ……………………………………………………………………..…………16 Post migration stressors ………………………………………………………………...…22

Summary of current problem and study relevance ……………………..…… 22

Manuscript

Contribution of Student..…..……………………………………………………………….….25

Abstract……………..…………………………………………………………………………….……26 Introduction………..………………………………………………………………………………...27 Methods……………..…………………………………………………………………………………28 Results……………..…………………………………...………...……………………………………31 Discussion………..…………………………………...………...………………………………...…38

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………..……………..41

Thesis References………………………………………………………………………………..……………42

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Hubert Department of Global Health
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Public Health Health Sciences, Mental Health
Keyword	depression syria refugees ptsd mental health anxiety
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Evans, Dabney, Emory University
Committee Members	Lopes Cardozo, Barbara , Emory University
Partnering Agencies	Does not apply (no collaborating organization)

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