Leontiyeva, Yana, Vitíková, Jana, Spurný, Martin, Pilnáček, Matouš, Kyselá, Monika, Zhmurko, Olga, Tabery, Paulína, Winkler, P. 2023. „Mental health conditions and help-seeking among Ukrainian war refugees in Czechia: A cross-sectional study.“. Psychiatry Research. Roč. 329, November (2023). ISSN 0165-1781. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115552
We aimed to screen Ukrainian war refugees (UWR) in Czechia for depression and anxiety, and to assess their recognition of personal mental health problems and related help-seeking.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study on a sample of UWR in Czechia. We used PHQ-8 and GAD-7 to screen for depression and anxiety, SELF-I to assess the recognition of respondents' own mental health problems, and a set of questions regarding mental health-related help-seeking.
Findings
Our sample consisted of 1,347 UWR. More than 41 % of respondents screened positively for moderate or severe depression and more than 23 % for moderate or severe anxiety. Self-recognition of mental health as well as help-seeking was very low among those who screened positively for moderate or severe depression or anxiety.
Interpretation
Even those UWR who report severe symptoms do not identify themselves as potentially having mental health issues and are not seeking help.
