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A research collaboration from the University of Queensland found that people living in countries with armed conflict were five times more likely to suffer from anxiety or depression.
Dr. Fiona Charlson, researcher at the UQ School of Public Health, said the study, conducted with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Washington, highlighted the serious effects of war on mental health.
"The burden of mental disorders is extremely high in conflict-affected populations," said Dr. Charlson.
"It is estimated that one in five people in these areas will develop a mental health disorder at any time and that the rate of anxiety and depression is five times higher than in the rest of the world.
"High prevalence shows the enormity of the problem."
The study also showed that the struggles of everyday life in a context of instability and war have profound implications for mental health.
"Direct and repeated exposure to trauma and armed conflict is a major burden on people's mental health," she said.
"There is also the increased stress involved when people try to do their normal day, finding food and trying to make a living in the conflict."
"Poverty is rampant in wars and it has strong links to mental illness, which is reflected in the results."
WHO and the global community should use the results to argue convincingly for the consideration of mental health in humanitarian crises.
"In these conflict environments, health systems are often destroyed or not functioning properly, which means that people who may have already had access to treatment have been cut off," said Dr. Charlson.
"Given the large number of people in need and the humanitarian imperative of reducing suffering, there is an urgent need to implement scalable mental health interventions to cope with this burden."
She said emergencies could be a catalyst for the development of useful mental health services because of increased political interest and increased funding sources.
The research will complement practical guidelines for the management of mental disorders in existing humanitarian emergencies.
The WHO Humanitarian Response Guide is a guide to moderate interventions for non-specialist health care providers where access to specialists and treatment options is limited.
Problem Management Plus focuses on scalable psychosocial support services and the need for interconnection between individuals and communities.
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The World Health Organization helped fund this research and played a role in badyzing the data and interpreting the results. Core funding for the Queensland Mental Health Research Center is provided by the Queensland Department of Health. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
This research is published in The lancet and is a collaboration between the World Health Organization and the Institute of Metrics and Health Assessment of the University of Washington.
Media: Dr. Fiona Jayne Charlson, [email protected]; Communications from the Faculty of Medicine, [email protected], +61 7 3365 5118.
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