Reuters (3/22, Thomasson) reports, “About half a million refugees from Ukraine who have fled to Poland need support for mental health disorders, and 30,000 have severe mental health problems,” a “representative for the World Health Organization in Poland said on” March 22. Ukrainian “refugees arriving in Poland are suffering from a range of health problems…but the main need is for support due to trauma, Paloma Cuchi, WHO representative in Poland, told a briefing in Geneva.”
ABC News (3/22, Kondoleon) reports research indicates that “firsthand exposure to traumatic events, such as the Ukraine war, can have lasting effects, including PTSD, anxiety, depression and relapse of alcohol abuse.” The American Psychiatric Association has estimated that the “prevalence of acute stress disorder ranges from 13%-50% depending on the type of event exposed to and about half of those individuals with acute stress disorder develop PTSD.” According to Craig Katz, MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry, medical education, system design and global health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, “the risk of developing lasting effects of acute stress disorder increases depending on the extent of exposure to a traumatic event, prior trauma that was not well addressed previously, a history of psychiatric disorders and not having social support.”
The Hill (3/22, Oshin) also covers the story.
Related Links:
— “500,000 refugees from Ukraine have mental health issues, WHO says, Reuters, March 22, 2022