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
. 2014 Mar 27:14:90.
doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-14-90.

Course of post-traumatic stress disorder and health care utilisation among resettled refugees in the Netherlands

Majda Lamkaddem  1 , Karien Stronks, Walter D Devillé, Miranda Olff, Annette A M Gerritsen, Marie-Louise Essink-Bot
Affiliations

Course of post-traumatic stress disorder and health care utilisation among resettled refugees in the Netherlands

Majda Lamkaddem et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major health problem among refugees worldwide. After resettlement, the prevalence of PTSD remains high despite the fact that various PTSD treatments are known to be effective.

Methods: We examined the course of PTSD and the role of mental health care utilisation at a 7-year interval (2003-2010) among a cohort of refugees from Iran, Afghanistan, and Somalia after resettlement in the Netherlands.

Results: The unchanged high prevalence of PTSD (16.3% in 2003 and 15.2% in 2010) was attributable in part to late onset of PTSD symptoms (half of the respondents with PTSD at T2 were new cases for whom PTSD developed after 2003). The second reason concerned the low use of mental health care services at T1. Whereas the multivariate analyses showed the effectiveness of mental health care, only 21% of respondents with PTSD at T1 had had contact with a mental health care provider at that time. Use of mental health care during the first wave increased the odds of improvement in PTSD symptoms between both measurements (OR 7.58, 95% CI 1.01; 56.85).

Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest there are two possible explanations for the persistently high prevalence of PTSD among refugees. One is the late onset of PTSD and the other is the low utilisation of mental health care. Health care professionals should be aware of these issues, especially given the effectiveness of mental health care for this condition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of data collection. PH = residence permit holders.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of respondents who scored above the PTSD cut-off point at T1 and T2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Devillé WLJM, Lindert J, Grujovic G, Iodice J, Petrova R. In: Refugees Worldwide, Volume 2. Elliott D, Segal UA, editor. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger; 2012. Refugee Health. (Refugee Health).
    1. Fazel M, Wheeler J, Danesh J. Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review. Lancet. 2005;365:1309–1314. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)61027-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sack WH, McSharry S, Clarke GN, Kinney R, Seeley J, Lewinsohn P. The Khmer Adolescent Project. I. Epidemiologic findings in two generations of Cambodian refugees. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1994;182:387–395. doi: 10.1097/00005053-199407000-00004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Turner S, Bowie C, Dunn G, Shapo L, Yule W. The mental health of Kosovan Albanian refugees in the UK. Br J Psychiatry. 2003;184:444–448. - PubMed
    1. Gerritsen AA, Bramsen I, Devillé W, van Willigen LH, Hovens JE, van der Ploeg HM. Physical and mental health of Afghan, Iranian and Somali asylum seekers and refugees living in the Netherlands. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2006;41:18–26. doi: 10.1007/s00127-005-0003-5. - DOI - PubMed