War and Mental Health

What is it about?

The aim of this chapter is to describe the impact of conflict and humanitarian crises on mental and social health and outline options for provision of services for individuals and communities to improve outcomes. The chapter will outline the epidemiology, prevention, and treatment of mental ill-health in conflict settings at individual and community level. It will cover: common psychological consequences of war and displacement, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), moral injury, and other mental health problems; the epidemiology of mental health problems in war-affected populations, including challenges in accurately assessing mental health; the societal health consequences of war and displacement and how this relates to mental health; mental health resilience; and treatment of mental health problems, including ensuring access to services through the provision of multi-layered services and identifying and overcoming barriers to accessing services. The case study will examine the realities of conducting research into mental and social health amongst conflict affected communities such as internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrants. Keywords: mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress reaction, psychological resilience, moral injury.

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