Mental health and psychosocial situation of children and adolescents in Jordan before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundJordan has been developing its mental health systems in collaboration with the World Health Organization since 2008. In 2018, child and adolescent mental health was included in the Jordanian National Mental Health and Substance Use Action Plan. In addition, a joint effort between Japan and Jordan is ongoing since 2021 to strengthen the mental health care for children and adolescents. This review aims to summarise the existing literature for better comprehension of the current mental health situation of children and adolescents in Jordan.MethodsA scoping review was conducted to map the mental health and psychosocial issues of children and adolescents in Jordan. Peer-reviewed articles published between 2016 and 2022 were systematically searched in PubMed, PsychINFO, Global Health, and Embase databases. The data were summarised thematically. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of depression and anxiety. The study protocol was registered prospectively at the University Hospital Medical Information Network-Clinical Trials Registry (registration number UMIN000046513) on 31st December, 2021.ResultsA total of 53 studies were identified. Depression was the most examined mental health problem. The prevalence of depression varied greatly, from 9.5–73.8%. The meta-analysis showed that the overall pooled prevalence of depression was 34.0%, with 95% confidence intervals of 27.4–40.6. The subgroup analysis of depression prevalence (general population before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: 31.7% and 48.3%, respectively) implied a possible deterioration of mental health of the youth. In addition to depression, mental health issues such as emotional/behavioural symptoms, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), eating disorders, and substance use have been discussed in the literature. Although three studies addressed mental health and psychosocial interventions, none demonstrated efficacy.ConclusionsThis scoping review highlights the potentially high prevalence of mental health issues among children and adolescents in Jordan despite the huge heterogeneity among the selected studies. In addition, it shows a probable deterioration in mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic; there is limited evidence of mental health and psychosocial interventions for this population. Further large-scale epidemiological studies are required to understand the current mental health situation of children and adolescents in Jordan.