Submission ID 130343
| Issue/Objective | Nigeria hosts about 3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), representing 43% of West Africa's displaced population. While 75% of Nigerian IDPs manifest mental health symptoms, critical gaps exist in understanding their lived experiences, psychosocial impacts displacement and available mental health and psychosocial support systems for IDPs. Objective To explore the lived experiences of trauma and displacement among internally displaced persons in North-Central Nigeria, examining their cultural interpretations of mental health, coping mechanisms, and support systems across multiple ecological contexts. |
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| Methodology/Approach | METHODS A phenomenological qualitative study was conducted in Wassa and Durumi IDP camps, Abuja. Participants included male and female IDPs aged ≥13 years, recruited through purposive sampling. Data collection involved 18 in-depth interviews and 8 focus group discussions conducted in Hausa. Audio recordings were transcribed and translated by experts. Thematic analysis followed Braun and Clarke's framework, interpreted through Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory using NVivo 14. Ethics approval was obtained from the Nigerian National Health Research Ethics Committee and Dalhousie University |
| Results | RESULTS Five themes emerged: (1) Mental/Psychological Impact, (2) Support Ecosystem, (3) Coping Mechanisms, (4) Socioeconomic Impact, and (5) Gender-Based Violence. Participants exhibited trauma from violent displacement, with PTSD symptoms including social withdrawal, nightmares, and hyperarousal. Robust informal support networks existed through community gatherings, but formal mental health services were absent. Both positive coping strategies (farming, faith-based activities) and negative strategies (substance use) were identified. Severe challenges in meeting basic needs were reported, with economic vulnerability driving women into transactional sex and men toward criminal activities. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | CONCLUSIONS The mental health crisis stems from violent displacement, which disrupts the essential ecological relationships that sustain well-being. While informal networks provide resilience, they are insufficient on their own and multi-level interventions are urgently needed. These should include trauma-informed mental health services, economic empowerment, and meaningful policy reforms. Community-based psychosocial programs that leverage social capital, integrated with formal mental health services, hold strong potential to improve outcomes both locally and globally for IDPs. Keywords: Internally Displaced Persons, Nigeria, Mental Health, Ecological Systems Theory, Phenomenology, Support Systems |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Bala Harri Dalhousie University Andem Effiong Etim Duke Dalhousie University Omolayo Anjorin Dalhousie University Damilola Onietan Dalhousie University Somtoo Rita Henry Dalhousie University Chisom Obi-Jeff Brooks Insight Linda liebenberg Dalhousie University Rita Orji Dalhousie University Vincent Agyapong Dalhousie University Ejemai Eboreime Dalhousie University |
