Research view
Title: | Psychiatric disorders among a sample of internally displaced persons in South Darfur |
Author: | Mahmoud M Elhabiby, Doaa N Radwan, Tarek A Okasha and Eman D El-Desouky |
Abstract: |
Background: The violent armed conflict in Darfur has been ongoing for years getting the attention of human rights
activists and mental health professionals.
Aim: The aim of this study was to assess psychiatric disorders in a sample of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South
Darfur.
Method: A cross-sectional observational study, as a part of the ‘Darfur Campaign’ organized by Arab Federation of
Psychiatrists, assessing psychiatric disorders in a sample of internally displaced women using the Structured Clinical
Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I) (clinical version).
Results: Up to 25.7% of participants had lost a close family member or more in the violent clashes. Psychiatric diagnoses
were found in 62.2% of the participants. The most frequently reported was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
reaching 14.9%, followed by depression 13.5% (among which 2.7% with psychotic features), while comorbid PTSD and
depression reached 8.1% of participants. Patients with psychiatric diagnoses had an older age (36.6 years) (p=.024).
Suffering from a psychiatric disorder was found to be associated with losing a family member in the conflict (p=.015),
being 35.6% in patients with psychiatric diagnoses compared to 10.3% in those without losing a family member in the
conflict (odds ratio (OR)=4.7, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.25–18.28).
Conclusions: This study used a standardized tool for diagnosing psychiatric morbidity among refugees in Darfur
to give as much as possible an actual description of the problems and psychiatric morbidity caused by human-made
disasters. This study can help to lead to a more detailed and specific mental health service program much needed by
this population.
Keywords
Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, internally displaced persons, psychiatric disorders, mental health, Darfur
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Journal: | International Journal of Social Psychiatry |
Text: | |
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