Suchergebnisse

Examines the health status, use of physicians, and response to offered assistance of Vietnamese refugees with psychiatric disorders; 1982-85; Norway.

One hundred forty-five Vietnamese boat refugees were interviewed on arrival and after three years in Norway. The integration into the labor market was poor and the rate of unemployment was relatively high (16%). Eighty-two (63%) were members of the labor force, the rest being students (n=41) or housewives (n=6). Both loss of social status in Vietnam in 1975 and experiences of war trauma were independently related to labor force participation, when age, sex and mental health were controlled for. The risk of unemployment was increased among men and among refugees with low formal education and with no accompanying spouse. The results indicate that war trauma may have an impact on career choice and integration into the labor market which is independent of mental health. Future immigration policies should probably improve the refugees' opportunities to establish intraethnic social networks to facilitate job finding and entrepreneurship.

Refugee children may encounter barriers to accessing mental health services. We conducted a case—control study based on a systematic review of clinic records to compare psychopathology and service utilization in refugee and Norwegian children referred to a child psychiatry department in a county in southern Norway. Sixty-one refugee children were compared with 61 Norwegian-born children matched for gender, age and time of referral to the clinic. There was no significant difference in rates of referral or level of service utilization, which were proportional to the population. Compared with Norwegian children, refugee children were diagnosed more frequently with post-traumatic stress disorder and other affective and emotional disorders, and less often with pervasive developmental disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The results are discussed in terms of referral pathways and the need for culturally competent care for refugee children.

Background: Despite the high worldwide prevalence and association with other mental disorders and disability, only few studies are available on social phobia in low-income countries. Aims: This study aims to assess the prevalence, socio-demographic correlates and comorbidity of social phobia and its association with disability among long-term internally displaced persons (IDPs) in one urban and one rural area in Central Sudan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was implemented in two IDP areas in Central Sudan. Data were collected during face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires to assess socio-demographic factors and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) to determine psychiatric diagnoses. A total of 1,876 adults were enrolled from both study areas. Results: The overall lifetime prevalence of social phobia was 14.2%, with higher rates among IDPs in the rural area and among those who were less educated. Social phobia was associated with other mental disorders in both study areas. Disability and prolonged displacement increased the risk of having social phobia in the rural area. Conclusion: Further work needs to be done to improve our understanding and to establish proper interventions in dealing with social phobia, other common mental disorders and disability among long-term IDPs in these impoverished areas.

Background: Women are more vulnerable to mental health problems than men after migration, but little is known about the influence of religiosity/spirituality on their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore religiosity/spirituality, in relationships with various domains of quality of life, among female Eritrean refugees staying in Norwegian asylum centres. Method: A questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics was used together with the World Health OrganizationQuality of Life – Spirituality, Religiosity and Personal Beliefs (WHOQOL-SRPB) questionnaire, which assesses religiosity/spirituality and domains of quality of life. A total of 63 adult female Eritrean refugees who had been granted asylum but were still living in asylum reception centres located in southern and central Norway participated. Results: Religiosity/spirituality was independently associated with psychological quality of life ( B = 0.367, p < .001), level of independence ( B = 0.184, p = .028), social quality of life ( B = 0.500, p = .003), environmental quality of life ( B = 0.323, p < .001) and overall quality of life ( B = 0.213, p < .001), but not with physical quality of life ( B = 0.056, p = .679). There were no significant differences between religious affiliations on religiosity/spirituality or quality of life measures. Conclusion: Consistent with previous research, this study highlights the correlation between religiosity/spirituality and overall quality of life. We recommend a longitudinal follow-up study of similar populations, after they are resettled and integrated into their host countries, to understand the associations between quality of life and religiosity/spirituality over time.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in the Kampong Cham province and to determine the association between these symptoms and an impaired social functioning. Methods: Cross-sectional cluster sample survey conducted among adults randomly selected within 50 clusters distributed over the province. Results: Of the respondents, 42.4% reported symptoms that met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition criteria for depression, 53% displayed high anxiety symptoms and 7.3% met posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) criteria. Posttraumatic symptoms of intrusion and avoidance were present in 47.8% and 45.4% respectively. When reviewing comorbidities, 29.2% had depression and anxiety symptoms, 16.5% anxiety symptoms, 6.1% depression and 7.1% had triple comorbidity (PTSD, depression and anxiety). Regarding social functioning, 25.3% reported being socially impaired. Respondents with comorbid symptoms for depression, anxiety and PTSD were associated with an increased risk for social impairment compared with others. Being over 65 years and having experienced violent events were other factors associated with social impairment. Conclusion: Five years after the return of a more stable context in Cambodia, the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in the community remains high. In addition, these symptoms are strongly associated with social impairment. This suggests that beyond psychosocial programs, the implementation of adapted clinical psychiatric care should be considered as a priority.

We investigated acculturative hassles in a community cohort of Vietnamese refugees in Norway ( n = 61), exploring cross-sectional data and longitudinal predictors of acculturative hassles using data from their arrival in Norway in 1982 (T1), with follow up in 1985 (T2) and in 2005–2006 (T3). To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study of predictors of acculturative hassles in a refugee population. Results indicated that more communication problems and less Norwegian language competence were related to most hassles at T3. Higher psychological distress, lower quality of life, lower self-reported state of health, and less education at T3 were associated with higher levels of hassles at T3. More psychological distress at T2 and less education at arrival (T1) were significant predictors for more acculturative hassles at T3. These data suggest that addressing psychological distress during the early phase in a resettlement country may promote long-term refugee adjustment and, in particular, reduce exposure to acculturative hassles.

Aims:There is a scarcity of data on mental health problems among Sudanese internally displaced persons (IDPs). This study aims to assess the prevalence of mental disorders of IDPs in Sudan, and to determine and compare the association between mental disorders and socio-demographic variables between the rural and urban long-term IDP populations.Methods:This cross-sectional study was implemented in two IDP areas in Central Sudan. Data were collected during face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires to assess socio-demographic factors and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) to determine psychiatric diagnoses. A total of 1,876 adults were enrolled from both study areas.Results:The overall prevalence of having any mental health disorder in the IDP population was 52.9%. The most common disorders were major depressive disorder (24.3%), generalized anxiety disorder (23.6%), social phobia (14.2%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (12.3%). Years of displacement and education were associated with different mental disorders between the two areas, and there were no gender differences in prevalence of mental disorders in either area.Conclusion:This study shows high prevalence rates of mental disorders in both urban and rural IDP populations in Sudan, indicating a need to explore the circumstances for these high rates and to develop appropriate responses.