Mental health discourses on descendants of Indian indentured labourers in Guyana: A scoping review

Guyana is a multi-ethnic post-colonial state with a history of infamous slavery and indentured system. In 2014 and 2019, Guyana ranked first and second in global per capita suicide rate, respectively. The highest suicide rates are prevalent among Indo-Guyanese community, descendants of Indian indentured labourers brought from colonial India between 1838 and 1917. To explore existing mental health research discourses of Indo-Guyanese people and to locate their unique historical experience of indentureship and its related socio-cultural and structural dynamics on contemporary society. We followed Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework for scoping review, which was later developed by Tricco et al. Peer-reviewed journal articles in English published in Scopus, PubMed, JSTOR and Google Scholar online databases were considered for review. Selected citations were uploaded into Rayyan systematic review software to remove duplicate citations. Nine articles that fulfilled the eligibility criteria were synthesised thematically. Among the selected nine articles, eight were on suicide and one was on intergenerational trauma. Relationship issues, cultural norms, intergenerational trauma, unrecognised and undiagnosed mental health issues and substance use caused mental health issues. Stigma, judgment, mocking, shaming and lack of awareness acted as barriers to access mental health support. Suicide prevention act, hotlines and NGOs supports were primary interventions in reducing death by suicide in Guyana. There is a dearth of experience-near research to locate the socio-structural factors that underpin the unique historicity of indentureship and their impact on the contemporary mental health crisis among the Indo-Guyanese community. We argue for historically situated mental health research to grasp better the complexity of contemporary mental health issues among displaced and marginalised communities. Additionally, mental health system needs to inculcate an ethical and political understanding of intergenerational experiences of descendants of Indian indentured labourers.