ICERAS

Background

In 2015, majority refugees arriving in Switzerland came from Eritrea. In their home-country or during their journey to Europe refugees experience psychological and physical stress. Such trauma may predispose refugees to mental health disorders. In this study Eritrean refugees who arrived <12 months ago in Switzerland are screened for mental health status and resilience.

Methods

Refugees aged ≥16 years are recruited via cantonal refugee registers and screened using three standard scales for mental health assessment: The Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic, Anxiety and Depression Syndrome (PHQ-SADS), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Check List-Civilian version (PTSD-CL-S), and 14-Item Resilience Scale (RS-14). Survey started in January 2016, recruiting immigrants who arrived in Switzerland in 2015. Currently recruitment is on-going to achieve sample-size target of 300.

Results

Up to June 15th 2015, 62 participants (53 male, 9 female) have been enrolled, median age was 23 years (inter-quartile range: 19-28). Applying threshold of ≥ 30 on PTSD-CL-S, 26 (42%) suffer from PTSD symptoms. Most indicated their journey to Europe as specifically traumatising, particularly crossing the Sahara desert (12; 20%). Anxiety and anxiety attack were reported by 8(12%) and 7(11%) respectively. Eight (13%) reported symptoms of depression and another 7 (11%) reported somatic symptoms (≥10 on PHQ-SADS). Reported resilience was generally high with 60(97%) scoring ≥65 on RS-14.

Conclusions

More than 1 out of 3 presumably healthy Eritrean refugees report symptoms of PTSD, particularly in relation to traumatising experiences during their journey to Europe. Despite high rates of PTSD participants scored high in resilience. Further qualitative studies are needed to explore PTSD, resilience, and its interrelation in Eritrean refugees.

Key message:

• While many Eritrean refugees report symptoms of PTSD, other psychiatric disorders appear to be rare and most refugees report strong resilience

© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

source https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/26/suppl_1/ckw174.179/2449355