Mental Health and Wellbeing of Rohingya Refugees: A Scoping Review.

Since 1978, the Rohingya population has faced multiple humanitarian crises, including racial disparities, which significantly escalated during 2017, leading to widespread exile from Myanmar. Reportedly, violence, persecution, and trauma have posed grievous impacts on the mental health of these forcibly displaced people. This scoping review aimed to synthesize the evidence regarding the overall epidemiologic burden of psychological problems of Rohingya refugees with their associated factors. We evaluated five major databases and additional sources till July 31, 2024, and included articles according to the eligibility criteria following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist. Out of 373 citations retrieved from multiple sources, we included 35 articles in this review. Most of the articles reported a high prevalence of different psychological symptoms of Rohingya refugees, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, persistent complex bereavement disorder, feeling afraid, etc. Several correlates of mental health problems were reported, including older age, being female, illiteracy, experiences of torture, sexual violence, unemployment, food insecurity, statelessness, lack of healthcare access, unhygienic campsites, and preexisting health problems, etc. There were significant gaps in community-level intervention studies, however, Group Integrated Adapt Therapy (IAT-G) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services are widely used. The available evidence suggests a huge burden of mental health disorders with several biopsychosocial factors that may assist in better policymaking and implementation of multilayered approaches, like improving healthcare access, training healthcare providers, more community-based intervention studies, and introducing tele-mental health services for Rohingya refugees.