Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 May:182:444-8.

Mental health of Kosovan Albanian refugees in the UK

Stuart W Turner  1 , Cameron Bowie, Graham Dunn, Laidon Shapo, William Yule
Affiliations
  • PMID: 12724249

Mental health of Kosovan Albanian refugees in the UK

Stuart W Turner et al. Br J Psychiatry. 2003 May.

Abstract

Background: In 1999 the UK received 4346 refugees from Kosovo.

Aims: To determine the prevalence of mental health problems in this group.

Method: A sample of 842 adults was surveyed. All were asked to complete self-report questionnaires (translated into Kosovan Albanian). A subset of 120 participants were later interviewed in Albanian using the Clinician Administered PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) Scale and a depression interview.

Results: The study yielded estimates of prevalence of PTSD and depression. Self-report measures appear to overestimate the prevalence of these disorders. Just under half of the group surveyed had a diagnosis of PTSD and less than one-fifth had a major depressive disorder.

Conclusions: These results may be taken as a sign of the resilience of many who survived this conflict but they also imply that there is still a substantial need for good health and social care in a significant proportion. Psychosocial interventions are likely to be an important part of the treatment programme.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Validity issues in transcultural epidemiology.
    Van Ommeren M. Van Ommeren M. Br J Psychiatry. 2003 May;182:376-8. Br J Psychiatry. 2003. PMID: 12724237 No abstract available.
  • Mental health of refugees.
    Summerfield D. Summerfield D. Br J Psychiatry. 2003 Nov;183:459-60; author reply 460. doi: 10.1192/bjp.183.5.459-a. Br J Psychiatry. 2003. PMID: 14594924 No abstract available.

Publication types

MeSH terms