Person:
Kolappa, Kavitha

Profile Picture

Email Address

AA Acceptance Date

Birth Date

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Job Title

Last Name

Kolappa

First Name

Kavitha

Name

Kolappa, Kavitha
Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.56c20ad8-ea73-400f-8e46-435136508713

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    A two-phase approach for the identification of refugees with priority need for mental health care in Lebanon: a validation study
    (BioMed Central, 2017) Llosa, Augusto E.; Van Ommeren, Mark; Kolappa, Kavitha; Ghantous, Zeina; Souza, Renato; Bastin, Pierre; Slavuckij, Andrej; Grais, Rebecca F.
    Background: Time and resource efficient mental disorder screening mechanisms are not available to identify the growing number of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons in priority need for mental health care. The aim of this study was to identify efficient screening instruments and mechanisms for the detection of moderate and severe mental disorders in a refugee setting. Methods: Lay interviewers applied a screening algorithm to detect individuals with severe distress or mental disorders in randomly selected households in a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. The method included household informant and individual level interviews using a Vignettes of Local Terms and Concepts for mental disorders (VOLTAC), individual and household informant portions of the field-test version of the WHO-UNHCR Assessment Schedule of Serious Symptoms in Humanitarian Settings (WASSS) and the WHO Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). A subset of participants were then reappraised utilizing the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), WHO Disability Assessment Schedule II, and the Global Assessment of Functioning. The study constitutes a secondary analysis of interview data from 283 randomly selected households (n = 748 adult residents) who participated in a mental health disorders prevalence study in 2010. Results: The 5-item household informant portion of WASSS was the most efficient instrument among those tested. It detected adults with severe mental disorders with 95% sensitivity and 71% specificity (Area Under Curve (AUC) = 0.85) and adults with moderate or severe mental disorder with 85.1% sensitivity and 74.8% specificity (AUC = 0.82). The complete screening algorithm demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 58% specificity. Conclusions: Our results suggest that a two phase, screen-confirm approach is likely a useful strategy to detect incapacitating mental disorders in humanitarian contexts where mental health specialists are scarce, and that in the context of a multi-step screen confirm mechanism, the household informant portion of field-test version of the WASSS may be an efficient screening tool to identify adults in greatest need for mental health care in humanitarian settings. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-016-1154-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    A United Nations General Assembly Special Session for Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders: The Time Has Come
    (Public Library of Science, 2012) Bass, Judith K.; Bornemann, Thomas H.; Burkey, Matthew; Chehil, Sonia; Chen, Lenis; Copeland, John R. M.; Eaton, William W.; Ganju, Vijay; Hayward, Erin; Hock, Rebecca S.; Kidwai, Rubeena; Or, Flora; Raviola, Giuseppe J.; Saraceno, Benedetto; Patel, Vikram; Kolappa, Kavitha; Lee, Patrick T.; Minas, Harry
    Summary Points: Mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders are leading causes of the global burden of disease and profoundly impact the social and economic well-being of individuals and communities. The majority of people affected by MNS disorders globally do not have access to evidence-based interventions and many experience discrimination and abuses of their human rights. A United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) is needed to focus global attention on MNS disorders as a core development issue requiring commitments to improve access to care, promote human rights, and strengthen the evidence on effective prevention and treatment.