Prolonged internally displacement and common mental health disorders among students in tertiary institutions in the North West, Nigeria

The study examined prolonged internally displacement and common mental health disorders among students in tertiary institutions in the North West, Nigeria. This study adopted descriptive research design of survey type. The study area is North West Nigeria which comprises of six states (Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Kano) where the insurgence of kidnapping and banditry are prevalent. The participants of the study comprise students who are victims of prolonged internally displacement and ministry of welfare officials in the respective states. The instruments used are: (i) Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders Patient Health Questionnaire to measure prevalence of mental health disorders among the internally displaced persons, and (ii) Official records from office of the ministry of internal affairs. Data collected were analyzed descriptively using frequency count and percentages. The study revealed that the total number of IDPs in the north-west is 465,859 which is distributed 121,434 26.06%, 24.10%, 19.23%, 10.87%, 9.9% and 9.74% across the six states: Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Kano respectively. The common mental health disorders experienced by internally displaced persons are depression (63.69%), anxiety disorders (63.05), loneliness is (61.14%), Suicidal feelings (60.50%) and frequent fear (60.50%). The study shows that prolonged internally displacement leads to low academic performance, drop in school enrolment rate and disrupt academic calendar. The study recommends that School authority should provide social and professional support systems to maintain mental health care of students who suffer mental health disorders.