Mental health of refugees and displaced persons in Syria and surrounding countries: a systematic review

Over the past two years, Syria went from being the third largest refugee hosting country in the world to the largest refugee producing country. This article provides the findings of a systematic literature review on the mental health and psychosocial support context, and the mental health profile of refugees (primarily Iraqi) and civilians in Syria. This review covers two periods: the complex refugee emergency that started in 2006 as a result of war in Iraq, and the current internal displacement and acute complex emergency starting in 2011. The systematic review of the published and grey literature on the mental health profiles of Iraqi and Syrian refugees and those Syrians who have been internally displaced includes complementing analyses of the needs and resources of different affected populations, using assessment results from Syria and surrounding refugee hosting countries. The problematic lack of recent literature is noted, and the need for more rigorous assessments, applied research and accessible grey literature identified.