IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v68y2022i5p933-953.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mental health outcomes in Syrian refugees: A systematic review

Author

Listed:
  • Fernando Henrique de Lima Sá
  • Vitória Waikamp
  • Lúcia Helena Machado Freitas
  • Fernanda Lucia Capitanio Baeza

Abstract

Background: Syria is the main country of origin for refugees in the world. The prevalence of mental disorders in this population is high, but there is a lack of more comprehensive data on mental health issues in this population. Aim: This study aims to review the literature for mental health outcomes in Syrian refugees. Methods: We performed a systematic quantitative literature review of original observational studies indexed on the MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, LILACS, and SciELO databases with quantitative data reporting mental health outcomes in Syrian refugees. A descriptive analysis was conducted, and the quality of the included studies was assessed using an adaptation from The National Institutes of Health (NIH) quality assessment tool for observational studies. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Results: A total of 64 studies were included. The majority were published between 2019 and 2020, and focused on the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety, with a wide range of variations. Other outcomes were difficulties in the post-migration period and promotive factors for mental health, such as resilience, positive coping strategies, and psychosocial well-being. Conclusions: High prevalence rates of mental disorders were observed, as well as risk factors for their occurrence. Studies showed a very high variability of prevalence rates and heterogeneity in methodologies. There is a need for research focusing on other determinants and specific necessities for mental health, especially in the post-resettlement period.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando Henrique de Lima Sá & Vitória Waikamp & Lúcia Helena Machado Freitas & Fernanda Lucia Capitanio Baeza, 2022. "Mental health outcomes in Syrian refugees: A systematic review," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(5), pages 933-953, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:68:y:2022:i:5:p:933-953
    DOI: 10.1177/00207640221099404
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00207640221099404
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00207640221099404?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:68:y:2022:i:5:p:933-953. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.