Digital Mental Health in Humanitarian Crisis in Bangladesh

Abstract

The mental health issues of refugees displaced by violence and affected by humanitarian crises are significant but may be underestimated by healthcare providers. This paper reports on a five-month field trial of a digital screening tool in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh. The screening tool is based on the WHO SRQ-20 standard with twenty questions to identify people showing symptoms of mental health issues. The paper demonstrates that not only can digital mental health interventions identify people with symptoms of mental health issues in a refugee camp, but the approach can also identify predictors of mental health issues. First, findings show that of 1630 persons screened, 20.1% exhibited indications of significant mental health issues. Second, a binary logistic regression analysis finds that three of the questions or variables have high ‘odds ratios’ and are, therefore, significant in their ability to predict mental health issues. These predictors are substantiated through semi-structured interviews with the refugees that highlight particular issues of concern.