"It is because of the love for the job that we are still here": Mental health and psychosocial support among health care workers affected by attacks in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.

ABSTRACT: Attacks on health care have important consequences for the mental health (MH) and work availability of health care workers (HCW). In the conflict-affected Northwest and Southwest (NWSW) regions of Cameroon, health care attacks are common; however, little is known on the MH burden and/or (mental) health-seeking behavior among affected HCW. We therefore conducted a survey on mental conditions (relying on SRQ-20 and WASSS assessments) and access to MH services among 470 HCW from 12 districts in NWSW Cameroon in January-February 2022. In-depth interviews on personal experiences with attacks and on accessing MH services were conducted with a subset of 96 HCW. Among surveyed HCW, 153 (33%) had experienced an attack in the past 6 months, and a further 121 (26%) had experienced attacks more than 6

SUBMITTER: Chandini MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10621865 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature