Primary care mental health services in Qatar

Wadoo, Ovais; Ahmed, Mohamed Ali; Reagu, Shuja; Abdulla, Samya Ahmad Al; Abdulla, Majid Ali Y. A. Al

doi:10.1192/bji.2020.45

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…There have been no changes in the legal status to reporting suicide since the previous study. However, the population composition and the mental health services in Qatar have undergone significant changes since that time [ 32 – 34 ]. The regular mental health services are provided by the state heavily subsidized and free of charge in emergency to all residents irrespective of the nationality status.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicidal behavior in a migrant majority population and impact on trends during the early Covid-19 period: a cross sectional study in Qatar

et al. 2022

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Background Qatar is a high-income country with 90% of the population being economic migrants from low income countries. Due to this unique population composition, it has been suggested that Qatar may not follow suicide trends of high-income countries. Additionally, there is paucity of information on suicidal trends and rates due to social and cultural reasons. The Covid-19 pandemic has additionally impacted mental health of migrants differently form native Qataris. Objectives This study explores suicidal behavior trends among individuals attending the main Emergency Department in the state of Qatar for mental health emergencies. The study also compared these trends for pre-pandemic period to early post pandemic period. Methods A cross-sectional study of individuals attending the main emergency department of the country from 1st December 2019 to 30th June 2020 was carried out using a composite data collection form. This identified 799 individuals presenting with mental health emergencies. Suicidal behaviors, relevant sociodemographic data, along with factors known to be associated with suicidal behaviors were collected for this group. Results 24.9% (n = 199) of the sample presented with suicidal behaviors. Younger age (31.16 ± 9.497), current hopelessness (70; 54.7%), history of suicidal thoughts (50; 47.2%), history of suicidal attempts (43; 34.7%), history of self-harm thoughts (35; 39.3%), history of self-harm attempts (41; 37.6%) were highly significantly associated with suicidal behavior (p < 0.01). Qataris formed 27% of the group presenting with suicidal behaviors although they constitute only around 10% of the population. There was no significant change in the rate of presenting with suicidal behaviors during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Conclusions This study reports an annual incidence of suicidal behaviors in Qatar lower than that has been previously reported. The authors surmise that this may be due to improved availability and early intervention of mental health services and decreased stigma around mental health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicidal behavior in a migrant majority population and impact on trends during the early Covid-19 period: a cross sectional study in Qatar

et al. 2022

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“…Our findings revealed that there were many referrals that had insufficient information from the referring doctor. 4,6 There was little justification for urgent referrals. There were referrals that did not conform to the clinical guidelines and were well within the scope of the primary care physician.…”

Section: The Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This initiative is the first of its kind within the mental health services in this region. 6 These meetings were led by psychiatrists and supported by mental health champions linked to each practice. During these meetings, we used structured feedback questionnaires that we created to collect data about physician demographics, qualifications, years of experience, the training the physicians have received for management of mental disorders and their previous experience of managing mental disorders.…”

Section: The Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving referrals from primary care to secondary mental health services through an educational intervention: experience from Qatar

Wadoo¹,

Ouanes

Ahmed

et al. 2021

BJPsych Int.

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Primary care is geared to manage patients with mild to moderate presentations of common mental disorders and to refer patients with more severe mental disorders to specialist mental health services. With growing demand for specialty care, the quality of the referral is increasingly important to ensure efficient patient flow across the primary/secondary care interface and appropriate use of secondary services. We report on an initiative in a Qatari mental health clinic to improve the quality of referrals from primary care to specialist mental health services through an educational intervention for family physicians. We highlight the problem, the intervention and the outcome of our initiative, which was the first of its kind in the region. The number of inappropriate referrals fell by 93%, and the number of referrals with inadequate clinical information declined from 15 (January 2019) to 1 (September 2019). Feedback was very positive; respondents reported feeling supported, with better understanding of care pathways, the scope of primary care and mental health services.

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“…In recent years, several authors have contributed to a burgeoning body of publications on mental health in Qatar. [1][2][3][4][5] This article builds on this expanding literature by assessing Qatar's progress towards community care as a method for dealing with mental health concerns in the country. This assessment is particularly important at this stage.…”

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confidence: 99%

Towards community care: Qatar's rapidly evolving mental health landscape

Solaiman

Ghuloum

2021

BJPsych Int.

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An undercurrent of change is occurring in Qatar's approach towards mental healthcare. In the past 5 years, significant attention has been given to community care initiatives. There is much progress to be made, but the provision of psychiatric support outside of hospitals, the launch of several community services and the tackling of the associated social stigma represent a marked step away from the norm that has usually pervaded in the region. This article analyses these changes and identifies the challenges that remain.

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Primary care mental health services in Qatar

Cited by 14 publications

References 10 publications

Suicidal behavior in a migrant majority population and impact on trends during the early Covid-19 period: a cross sectional study in Qatar

Suicidal behavior in a migrant majority population and impact on trends during the early Covid-19 period: a cross sectional study in Qatar

Improving referrals from primary care to secondary mental health services through an educational intervention: experience from Qatar

Towards community care: Qatar's rapidly evolving mental health landscape

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