Mental Health Care Services of the Adult Syrian Refugee Population in Atlanta

Georgia State University International Center Global Presentation Series

Mental Health Status and Needs Assessment for Mental Health Care Services of the Adult Syrian Refugee Population Resettled in Metropolitan Atlanta: A Cross-sectional Survey

Presented by Skander M’Zah, MD
2017 MPH Candidate, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University
2015 Fulbright Scholar

Dr. Skander M‘Zah, a physician and active participant in the movement known as the Arab Spring, was called home to Tunisia by the Red Crescent to respond to the emerging refugee crisis on the border with Libya. Thousands of displaced families arrived each day, fleeing violence at home only to encounter new challenges securing access to basic needs, including adequate healthcare. Dr. M’zah carried his experience in the camps to his medical residency in family medicine in the public hospital in Tunis. where he created a professional training program for clowns to bring humor and light to disadvantaged children.

As a global health student he spent this past summer in Gaziantep, Turkey, 20 miles from the Syrian border to participate in the World Health Organization‘s (WHO) emergency response to Northern Syria. Dr. M’Zah was tasked with writing the first mortality and morbidity report for the region since the refugee crisis began, and he also helped design a health information System to address the gaps in data created by the disparate surveillance tools each organization used.

Interviewed by Mary Helen O’Connor, PhD
Senior Faculty Associate, Office of International Initiatives
Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Perimeter College at Georgia State University