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Utilization of Mobile Mental Health Services among Syrian Refugees and Other Vulnerable Arab Populations—A Systematic Review

Author

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  • Adeel Ashfaq

    (Department of Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
    ULYSSES Project University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA)

  • Shawn Esmaili

    (ULYSSES Project University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA)

  • Mona Najjar

    (ULYSSES Project University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA)

  • Farva Batool

    (ULYSSES Project University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA)

  • Tariq Mukatash

    (ULYSSES Project University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA)

  • Hadeer Akram Al-Ani

    (ULYSSES Project University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
    Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA)

  • Patrick Marius Koga

    (ULYSSES Project University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
    Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA)

Abstract

The global refugee crisis is at its most critical state in history; Syria alone has produced 12 million internally displaced persons, with another 5 million refugees seeking protection across the globe. Faced with the heavy burden of mental distress carried by a massive refugee influx, many host nations lack the service capacity to respond adequately. While mobile mental health (mMHealth) applications and platforms have the potential to augment screenings and interventions for vulnerable populations, an insufficient gender and cultural adaptation of technology may drastically hamper its uptake in Arab refugees. Reporting only papers originating from Middle Eastern and/or Arab nations or refugee host nations, this systematic review evaluates the available literature published between 2000 and 2019 on the usage acceptability of mMHealth in Syrian refugees and other vulnerable Arab populations. We conducted a systematic review in PubMed, PsychInfo, Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify studies that addressed mMHealth implementation in these populations; of a total of 607 articles identified, only 10 (1.6%) available, unique articles met our search criteria. These studies discussed the feasibility and efficacy of mMHealth applications and the barriers to their uptake. The few existing studies show positive impacts of mMHealth on the access to services and on treatment outcomes but also reveal a paucity of literature on mMHealth for vulnerable Arab populations. These findings indicate a critical need for research on the barriers to mMHealth uptake, to bolster service capacity in the Arab Region and in the refugee diaspora of other, non-Arab host countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Adeel Ashfaq & Shawn Esmaili & Mona Najjar & Farva Batool & Tariq Mukatash & Hadeer Akram Al-Ani & Patrick Marius Koga, 2020. "Utilization of Mobile Mental Health Services among Syrian Refugees and Other Vulnerable Arab Populations—A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:4:p:1295-:d:321833
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Deborah Lupton, 2014. "Beyond Techno-Utopia: Critical Approaches to Digital Health Technologies," Societies, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-6, December.
    2. Haenssgen, Marco J., 2018. "The struggle for digital inclusion: Phones, healthcare, and marginalisation in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 358-374.
    3. Alessandro Liberati & Douglas G Altman & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Cynthia Mulrow & Peter C Gøtzsche & John P A Ioannidis & Mike Clarke & P J Devereaux & Jos Kleijnen & David Moher, 2009. "The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-28, July.
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    1. Julian Scherer & Yasmin Youssef & Florian Dittrich & Urs-Vito Albrecht & Serafeim Tsitsilonis & Jochen Jung & Dominik Pförringer & Stefan Landgraeber & Sascha Beck & David A. Back, 2022. "Proposal of a New Rating Concept for Digital Health Applications in Orthopedics and Traumatology," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Coetzer, Jessica A. & Loukili, Ibrahim & Goedhart, Nicole S. & Ket, Johannes C.F. & Schuitmaker-Warnaar, Tjerk Jan & Zuiderent-Jerak, Teun & Dedding, Christine, 2024. "The potential and paradoxes of eHealth research for digitally marginalised groups: A qualitative meta-review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).

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