18-01-2021
Training for family physicians for better support of
mental health needs of refugees
In Turkey, currently host of 3.6 million Syrian refugees, family physicians play a crucial role in primary health-care services, often serving as a first contact for refugees in need of health care. Family physicians are often also the first ones who can adequately identify mental health issues and needs.
“Mental health care is extremely important. The scope of the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will without a doubt be far-reaching,” explains Dr Akfer Karaoglan KahiloÄulları, Project Manager for Mental Health at the WHO Country Office in Turkey. “Vulnerable populations such as refugees and migrants have been hit especially hard by its consequences, as public health measures such as social distancing, isolation, food and medicine insecurity, and quarantine can act as triggers of past traumas.”