A study by researchers from Britain’s Anglia Ruskin University found that 58% of the northern population suffered from mental health disorders from anxiety and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The study, which was based of interviews with around 1,000 displaced adults at 25 hospitals across the north, also revealed that despite the high prevalence of mental illness, 83% of people reported they had not seen a mental health specialist in the previous three months.
Dr Shannon Doherty, Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin and lead researcher in this project, said:
“In the aftermath of conflict, physical injuries can be prioritised over serious mental health issues. We found that a worrying number of people in Sri Lanka have suffered with disorders and had not had access to appropriate treatment.
“In the second phase of our project, we aim to provide new approaches to offer mental health support to the victims of the civil war. We hope that it will help to resolve the crisis in Sri Lanka, and be applicable in future to other areas of conflict.”
Read more from Anglia Ruskin University here.