Experiences and impact of Duelo Migratorio among Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Peru: characterizing a cultural construct of distress.

backgroundIn the past 10 years, the economic and political crisis in Venezuela gave rise to one of the world's largest displaced populations, with 1.6 million of whom have fled to Peru. Severe adversities and the absence of mental health services has resulted in high burden of mental health disorder among them. Duelo Migratorio which translates to 'migratory grief,' is a construct of distress that has been described among Venezuelan refugees and migrants. However, understanding of this construct remains limited as existing literature is sparse. To fill this gap, this study sought to characterize Duelo Migratorio and define its impacts on the health and functioning of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Peru.

methodsThis qualitative study was a secondary analysis modeled after a phenomenologic study, analyzing semi-structured interviews from a purposive sample of 10 individuals working or volunteering with humanitarian and community-based organizations who were knowledgeable about mental health. Of these 10, 7 were also Venezuelan refugees and migrants themselves. Interviews explored migrant mental health needs and appropriate mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions. Utilizing thematic coding, the salient dimensions of Duelo Migratorio were identified and organized in a data display by code co-occurrence. Both a subjectivity memo and intercoder reliability assessment were conducted to mitigate the impacts of researcher bias on analysis.

resultsStudy findings revealed that Duelo Migratorio, is better described as a process of ongoing social role transition. Additional core dimensions of the experience include grief and isolation. Participants described Duelo Migratorio as a driver of mental ill health among Venezuelan refugees and migrants. The impacts of Duelo Migratorio were delineated at multiple levels of functioning, including at the personal, interpersonal, and community level. Finally, participants outlined challenges of applying existing therapeutic frameworks to this construct and highlighted the potential utility of adapting clinical tools to better alleviate distress related to Duelo Migratorio.

conclusionsDuelo Migratorio is a salient psychosocial experience faced by refugees and migrants that is not explicitly captured by existing frameworks. Future research ought to explore Duelo Migratorio in additional populations and explore how MHPSS interventions can alleviate cultural constructs of distress.