Open Journal Systems

Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders in Humanitarian Emergencies: Co-morbid Mental Disorders, Identifying Gaps and Emerging Trends

Oluwole Jegede

Article ID: 684
Vol 7, Issue 1, 2022, Article identifier:

VIEWS - 489 (Abstract) 280 (PDF)

Abstract

The mental health needs of displaced persons have traditionally taken the backstage in the conceptualization of the overall medical treatment needs of this population. Despite the intuitive understanding that the trauma experienced by these individuals makes them particularly predisposed to mental illness and substance use disorders, there remains a dearth of scientific data to shed light on this all-important subject. Epidemiologic literature and data consistently fall short in describing the extent of this problem and in particular the attendant alcohol and substance abuse that not only afflict people in humanitarian contexts but also aid workers who attempt to lend a helping hand to these communities. There is little or no documentation on effective, and efficient ways to predict, diagnose and treat alcohol and substance use disorders among displaced persons living in humanitarian regions of the world. This paper describes themultidirectional nature of mental illness and substance abuse, the gaps in knowledge, as well as emerging trends particularly in diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords

Substance use disorder; humanitarian emergencies; complex emergencies; alcohol abuse; mental illness

Full Text:

PDF



References

1. American Psychiatric Association 2013; Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Publishing.

2. Jones L, Asare JB, El Masri M, et al. Severe mental disorders in complex emergencies. The Lancet 2009; 374(9690): 654–661.

3. Ezard N. Substance use among populations displaced by conflict: A literature review. Disasters 2012; 36(3): 533-557.

4. Hanna FB. Alcohol and substance use in humanitarian and postconflict situations. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 2017; 23(3).

5. Bilak A. Global overview 2015: People internally displaced by conflict and violence. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Norwegian Refugee Council 2015.

6. Lo J, Patel P, Shultz JM, et al. A systematic review on harmful alcohol use among civilian populations affected by armed conflict in low-and middle-income countries. Substance Use &

7. Misuse 2017; 52(11):1494-1510.

8. World Health Organization. (2016, April 5). Retrieved from

9. www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/humanitarian-emergencies/en/.

10. Lai L. Treating substance abuse as a consequence of conflict and displacement: A call for a more inclusive global mental health. Medicine, conflict and survival 2014; 30(3): 182–189.

11. The Sphere Project. Humanitarian charter and minimum standards in humanitarian response. Practical Action Publishing 2011.

12. Patel V, Araya R, Chatterjee S, et al. Treatment and prevention of mental disorders in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet 2007; 370(9591): 991–1005.

13. Odenwald M, Neuner F, Schauer M, et al. Khat use as risk factor for psychotic disorders: A cross-sectional and case-control study in Somalia. BMC Medicine 2005; 3(1): 5.

14. Coldiron ME, Llosa AE, Roederer T, et al. Brief mental health interventions in conflict and emergency settings: An overview of four Médecins Sans Frontières–France programs. Conflict and health 2013; 7(1): 23.

15. World Health Organization. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/facts/global_burden/en/

16. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/documents/dataandanalysis/WDR2012/WDR_2012_web_mall.pdf

17. Kozariæ-Kovaèiæ D, Ljubin T, Grappe M. Comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol dependence in displaced persons. Croatian Medical Journal 2000; 41(2): 173– 178.

18. Harris BL, Levey EJ, Borba CP, et al. Substance use behaviors of secondary school students in post-conflict Liberia: A pilot study. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health2012; 5(3): 190–192.

19. Thabet AA, Vostanis P. Substance use among university students in the Gaza Strip. Arab

20. Journal of Psychiatry 2007; 18(1): 10–20.

21. Luitel NP, Jordans M, Murphy A, et al. Prevalence and patterns of hazardous and harmful

22. alcohol consumption assessed using the AUDIT among Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. Alcohol and Alcoholism 2013; 48(3): 349–355.

23. Nassan M, Frye MA, Adi A, et al. Telepsychiatry for post-traumatic stress disorder: A call for action in the Syrian conflict. The Lancet Psychiatry 2015; 2(10): 866.

24. Ursano RJ, Bell C, Eth S, et al. Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Am J Psychiatry 2004; 161 (11 Suppl): 3–31.

25. Weathers FW, Litz BT, Herman DS, et al. The PTSD Checklist (PCL): Reliability, validity, and diagnostic utility. Annual convention of the international society for traumatic stress studies. San Antonio1993.

26. Stein MB, Sareen J. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry, Anxiety Disorders (6 ed.). (R. Hales, S. C. Yudofsky, & W. Roberts L, Eds.) Airlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing 2014.

27. Reus VI, Fochtmann LJ, Bukstein O, et al. The American Psychiatric Association Practice

28. Guideline for the Pharmacological Treatment of Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry2017; 175(1): 86–90.

29. WHO. (2018). IASC Guidelines on Mental health and Psychosocial support in emergency settings. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/hac/network/interagency/news/mental_health_guidelines/en/

30. Rollman BL, Belnap BH, Abebe KZ, et al. Effectiveness of online collaborative care for treating mood and anxiety disorders in primary care: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry 2018; 75(1): 56–64.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.18063/esp.v7.i1.684
(489 Abstract Views, 280 PDF Downloads)

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2022 Oluwole Jegede

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.