ArticleConflict and health2022
Psychological distress and social support among conflict refugees in urban, semi-rural and rural settlements in Uganda: burden and associations.
Article in Conflict and health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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13 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- The health outcomes of shelter and settlements interventions in humanitarian crises: a systematic review.Conflict and health · 2026Review
- Prevalence and regional disparities in probable mental health conditions among persons aged 10 years and older in Uganda: Evidence from the 2024 National Population and Housing Census.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Effect of intimate partner violence on depression severity among women in informal settlements of Uganda.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Analysis of the possible pathways between social and well-being outcomes: a mixed-method study about community-based sociotherapy for refugees in Nakivale Settlement, Uganda.Conflict and health · 2025Article
- Culture, context and crisis: understanding community engagement in Ghana's Ashanti and Northern regions amid COVID-19 - a qualitative study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- The mediating effects of perceived social support and shame on psychological distress and its dimensions among Liberian refugees in Nigeria.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with psychosocial distress and trauma among Rohingya refugees living in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char in Bangladesh.Journal of migration and health · 2025Article
- Unveiling factors shaping distress levels over 2.5 years of enduring adversity.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Psychological distress among healthcare professionals in Mbarara, following the 2022 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Uganda: a mixed methods study.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Measuring refugees' capabilities: translation, adaptation, and valuation of the OxCAP-MH into Juba Arabic for use among South Sudanese male refugees in Uganda.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2024Article
- Psychosocial well-being and mental health of low- and middle-income countries' internally displaced persons and refugees during COVID-19: a systematic literature review.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Review
- Unpacking gender-specific risk and protective factors for mental health status among Congolese refugees in Uganda.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2024Article
- Anxiety and Depression Among Internally Displaced Persons in North Central Nigeria: Prevalence, Correlates, and Policy Implications.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecent research shows that psychological distress is on the rise globally as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions imposed on populations to manage it. We studied the association between psychological distress and social support among conflict refugees in urban, semi-rural and rural settlements in Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsCross-sectional survey data on psychological distress, social support, demographics, socio-economic and behavioral variables was gathered from 1014 adult refugees randomly sampled from urban, semi-rural and rural refugee settlements in Uganda, using two-staged cluster sampling. Data was analyzed in SPSS-version 22, and statistical significance was assumed at p < 0.05.
resultsRefugees resident in rural/semi-rural settlements exhibited higher levels of psychological distress [F(2, 1011) = 47.91; p < 0.001], higher availability of social interaction [F(2, 1011) = 82.24; p < 0.001], lower adequacy of social interaction [F(2, 1011) = 54.11; p < 0.001], higher availability of social attachment [F(2, 1011) = 47.95; p < 0.001], and lower adequacy of social attachment [F(2, 1011) = 50.54; p < 0.001] than peers in urban settlements. Adequacy of social interaction significantly explained variations in psychological distress levels overall and consistently across settlements, after controlling for plausible confounders. Additionally, adequacy of social attachment significantly explained variations in psychological distress levels among refugees in rural settlements, after controlling for plausible confounders.
conclusionThere is a settlement-inequality (i.e. rural vs. urban) in psychological distress and social support among conflict refugees in Uganda. To address psychological distress, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) should focus on strategies which strengthen the existing social networks among refugees. Variations in social support are a key predictor of distress which should guide tailored need-adapted interventions instead of duplicating similar and generic interventions across diverse refugee settlements.
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