Migrants' mental health recovery in Italian reception facilities.
Journal
Communications medicine
ISSN: 2730-664X
Titre abrégé: Commun Med (Lond)
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9918250414506676
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
22 Nov 2023
22 Nov 2023
Historique:
received:
31
01
2023
accepted:
12
10
2023
medline:
23
11
2023
pubmed:
23
11
2023
entrez:
22
11
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Forced migration leaves deep marks on the psychological well-being of migrants, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological conditions being prevalent among them. While research has clarified the extent to which pre-migration trauma is a predictor of mental health outcomes, the role of post-migration stressors in the settlement environment are yet to be fully characterized. We monitored mental health of a cohort of 100 asylum-seekers during their 14-day COVID-19-related quarantine in reception facilities in Rome, Italy, through the administration of six questionnaires (a demographic survey, the WHO-5 well-being index, the Primary Care PTSD Screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5), the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report, and the LiMEs-Italian version). Through the combination of statistical analysis and supervised learning, we studied the impact of the first contact with the reception system on asylum-seekers' mental health and sought for possible risk and shielding factors for PTSD. We find that sheltering in refugee centers has a positive impact on migrants' mental health; asylum-seekers with PTSD reported more traumatic events and personality characteristics related to loss and trauma; life events are predictors of PTSD in asylum-seekers. We identify past traumatic experiences as predictors of PTSD, and establish the positive role the immediate post-migration environment can play on migrants' psychological well-being. We recommend for host countries to implement reception models that provide effective protection and integration of asylum-seekers, similar to those in the Italian system. Traumatic experiences before and during migration can impact the psychological well-being of migrants. This can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a disorder in which prior experience of traumatic events can lead to severe anxiety. We asked migrants to fill in questionnaires about their well-being during a 14-day quarantine in reception facilities in Rome, Italy. We evaluated whether the migrants had symptoms of PTSD and the impact of the quarantine on their mental health. We found that migrants who had experienced past traumatic events were more likely to have PTSD, and that staying in a safe and welcoming place in Italy helped improve their mental wellbeing. These findings underline the importance of designing suitable policies to support migrants’ mental health when they arrive in host countries.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Forced migration leaves deep marks on the psychological well-being of migrants, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological conditions being prevalent among them. While research has clarified the extent to which pre-migration trauma is a predictor of mental health outcomes, the role of post-migration stressors in the settlement environment are yet to be fully characterized.
METHODS
METHODS
We monitored mental health of a cohort of 100 asylum-seekers during their 14-day COVID-19-related quarantine in reception facilities in Rome, Italy, through the administration of six questionnaires (a demographic survey, the WHO-5 well-being index, the Primary Care PTSD Screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5), the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report, and the LiMEs-Italian version). Through the combination of statistical analysis and supervised learning, we studied the impact of the first contact with the reception system on asylum-seekers' mental health and sought for possible risk and shielding factors for PTSD.
RESULTS
RESULTS
We find that sheltering in refugee centers has a positive impact on migrants' mental health; asylum-seekers with PTSD reported more traumatic events and personality characteristics related to loss and trauma; life events are predictors of PTSD in asylum-seekers.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
We identify past traumatic experiences as predictors of PTSD, and establish the positive role the immediate post-migration environment can play on migrants' psychological well-being. We recommend for host countries to implement reception models that provide effective protection and integration of asylum-seekers, similar to those in the Italian system.
Traumatic experiences before and during migration can impact the psychological well-being of migrants. This can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a disorder in which prior experience of traumatic events can lead to severe anxiety. We asked migrants to fill in questionnaires about their well-being during a 14-day quarantine in reception facilities in Rome, Italy. We evaluated whether the migrants had symptoms of PTSD and the impact of the quarantine on their mental health. We found that migrants who had experienced past traumatic events were more likely to have PTSD, and that staying in a safe and welcoming place in Italy helped improve their mental wellbeing. These findings underline the importance of designing suitable policies to support migrants’ mental health when they arrive in host countries.
Autres résumés
Type: plain-language-summary
(eng)
Traumatic experiences before and during migration can impact the psychological well-being of migrants. This can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a disorder in which prior experience of traumatic events can lead to severe anxiety. We asked migrants to fill in questionnaires about their well-being during a 14-day quarantine in reception facilities in Rome, Italy. We evaluated whether the migrants had symptoms of PTSD and the impact of the quarantine on their mental health. We found that migrants who had experienced past traumatic events were more likely to have PTSD, and that staying in a safe and welcoming place in Italy helped improve their mental wellbeing. These findings underline the importance of designing suitable policies to support migrants’ mental health when they arrive in host countries.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37993495
doi: 10.1038/s43856-023-00385-8
pii: 10.1038/s43856-023-00385-8
pmc: PMC10665420
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
162Investigateurs
Italo Monfrinotti
(I)
Michela Bosio
(M)
Francesco Colosimo
(F)
Francesco Rita
(F)
Fabrizio Perrelli
(F)
Annalisa Rosso
(A)
Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s).
Références
Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 2002;3:129-52
pubmed: 12142358
Commun Med (Lond). 2023 Nov 22;3(1):162
pubmed: 37993495
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2016 Sep;18(9):82
pubmed: 27436307
J Biomed Inform. 2018 Sep;85:189-203
pubmed: 30031057
Psychother Psychosom. 2015;84(3):167-76
pubmed: 25831962
Soc Sci Med (1967). 1977 Jan;11(1):3-10
pubmed: 887955
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jun 28;21(1):1240
pubmed: 34182975
J Gen Intern Med. 2016 Oct;31(10):1206-11
pubmed: 27170304
J Trauma Stress. 2018 Dec;31(6):795-804
pubmed: 30431683
Psychiatry Res. 2019 Sep;279:15-22
pubmed: 31279246
J Nerv Ment Dis. 1992 Feb;180(2):111-6
pubmed: 1737972
Glob Ment Health (Camb). 2022 Jun 14;9:250-263
pubmed: 36618716
Scand J Prim Health Care. 1994 Mar;12(1):24-31
pubmed: 8009096
Biomedicines. 2022 May 10;10(5):
pubmed: 35625844
Psychiatry Res. 2022 May;311:114494
pubmed: 35287045
Psychol Med. 2017 Oct;47(13):2260-2274
pubmed: 28385165
Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2007 Mar;20(2):111-5
pubmed: 17278906
Psychol Med. 1998 May;28(3):585-98
pubmed: 9626715
Biometrics. 2009 Mar;65(1):188-97
pubmed: 18510654
Transcult Psychiatry. 2022 Apr;59(2):111-115
pubmed: 35442116
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 27;19(15):
pubmed: 35954518
Int J Ment Health Syst. 2017 Aug 25;11:51
pubmed: 28855963
J Migr Health. 2020 Dec 02;1-2:100010
pubmed: 34405165
BMJ. 2022 Apr 28;377:e068821
pubmed: 35483723
Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020 Apr;270(3):325-335
pubmed: 31161262
Croat Med J. 1998 Sep;39(3):356-60
pubmed: 9740649
Eur J Public Health. 2019 Aug 1;29(4):700-705
pubmed: 31155672
CNS Spectr. 2021 Feb;26(1):77-83
pubmed: 32252858
Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2008 Jan 28;4:2
pubmed: 18226228
Br J Psychiatry. 1990 Mar;156:308-27
pubmed: 2189524
Behav Res Methods. 2007 May;39(2):175-91
pubmed: 17695343
Mil Med. 2022 Oct 29;187(11-12):1299-1309
pubmed: 35383836
J Bioinform Comput Biol. 2005 Apr;3(2):185-205
pubmed: 15852500
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2020 Mar;66(2):129-135
pubmed: 31774022
JAMA. 2009 Aug 5;302(5):537-49
pubmed: 19654388
Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2004 Apr;109(4):243-58
pubmed: 15008797
Behav Sci. 1974 Jan;19(1):1-15
pubmed: 4808738
Lancet Public Health. 2022 May;7(5):e469-e481
pubmed: 35487232
Travel Med Infect Dis. 2022 Mar-Apr;46:102180
pubmed: 34699955
Br J Psychiatry. 2012 Mar;200(3):216-23
pubmed: 22282430
Psychol Trauma. 2023 Oct;15(7):1136-1144
pubmed: 35679214
Psychiatry Res. 2016 Dec 30;246:692-699
pubmed: 27839826
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021 Jun;67(4):386-396
pubmed: 32962504
Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2017 Apr;26(2):129-138
pubmed: 27040595
BMJ. 2018 May 10;361:k1608
pubmed: 29748434
J Trauma Stress. 1999 Jul;12(3):421-35
pubmed: 10467553
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Sep 12;15(9):
pubmed: 30213071
Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2009;45(3):331-40
pubmed: 19861739