Dua Ti Dawa Ti: understanding psychological distress in the ten districts of the Kashmir Valley and community mental health service needs
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Housen, Tambri; Ara, Shabnum; Shah, Akmal; Shah, Showkat; Lenglet, Annick; Pintaldi, Giovanni
Description
Background An extensive body of research exists looking at the level of psychological distress in populations affected by political conflict. Recommended response to psychological distress in humanitarian crises is still based on frameworks for interventions developed in western/European contexts including psychological first aid, counselling and group therapy. While there is growing, but limited, evidence that culturally modified interventions can lead to reduction in symptoms of...[Show more]
dc.contributor.author | Housen, Tambri | |
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dc.contributor.author | Ara, Shabnum | |
dc.contributor.author | Shah, Akmal | |
dc.contributor.author | Shah, Showkat | |
dc.contributor.author | Lenglet, Annick | |
dc.contributor.author | Pintaldi, Giovanni | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-10-20T00:53:35Z | |
dc.date.available | 2020-10-20T00:53:35Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1752-1505 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1885/212599 | |
dc.description.abstract | Background An extensive body of research exists looking at the level of psychological distress in populations affected by political conflict. Recommended response to psychological distress in humanitarian crises is still based on frameworks for interventions developed in western/European contexts including psychological first aid, counselling and group therapy. While there is growing, but limited, evidence that culturally modified interventions can lead to reduction in symptoms of psychological distress in conflict affected populations, there is a need to understand mental health help-seeking behaviour and mental health service needs from the perspective of affected communities. Methods This study employed a qualitative exploratory research design based on principles of grounded theory. A combination of convenience and snowball sampling was used to recruit 186 adults from the general population to 20 focus group discussions; 95 men, median age 40 years, interquartile range (IQR): 27-48 years and 91 women, median age 40 years IQR: 32-50 years. Trained Kashmiri facilitators used a semi-structured interview guide to ascertain community perceptions on mental illness, help-seeking and service needs from the perspective of communities in the Kashmir Valley. Content analysis of transcripts resulted in the identification of seven overarching themes. Results Common locally recognized symptoms of psychological distress were synonymous with symptoms listed in the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25) and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Protracted political insecurity was highlighted as a major perceived cause of psychological distress in communities. Mental health help-seeking included traditional/spiritual healers in combination with practitioners of western medicine, with access highlighted as the main barrier. Divergent views were expressed on the effectiveness of treatment received. Participants' expressed the need for investment in mental health literacy to improve the community's capacity to recognize and support those suffering from psychological distress. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate the universality of symptoms of psychological distress whilst simultaneously highlighting the importance of recognizing the cultural, spiritual and contextual framework within which psychological distress is understood and manifest. Co-constructed models of community based mental health services are needed. | |
dc.description.sponsorship | This research was funded by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, India. | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.language.iso | en_AU | |
dc.publisher | BioMed Central | |
dc.rights | © The Author(s). | |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
dc.source | Conflict and Health | |
dc.title | Dua Ti Dawa Ti: understanding psychological distress in the ten districts of the Kashmir Valley and community mental health service needs | |
dc.type | Journal article | |
local.description.notes | Imported from ARIES | |
local.identifier.citationvolume | 13 | |
dc.date.issued | 2019 | |
local.identifier.absfor | 111714 - Mental Health | |
local.identifier.ariespublication | U1070655xPUB168 | |
local.publisher.url | http://www.conflictandhealth.com/ | |
local.type.status | Published Version | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Housen, Tambri, College of Health and Medicine, ANU | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Ara, Shabnum, University of Kashmir | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Shah, Akmal, Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Shah, Showkat, Department of Psychology | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Lenglet, Annick, Medecins Sans Frontieres Operational Centre | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Pintaldi, Giovanni, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Operational Centre Amsterdam (OCA) | |
local.bibliographicCitation.issue | 59 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage | 1 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage | 11 | |
local.identifier.doi | 10.1186/s13031-019-0243-8 | |
local.identifier.absseo | 920410 - Mental Health | |
dc.date.updated | 2020-07-06T08:20:02Z | |
dcterms.accessRights | Open Access | |
dc.provenance | © The Author(s). 2019 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. | |
dc.rights.license | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License | |
Collections | ANU Research Publications |
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