Effectiveness of Community-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support through the Paracounsellor Model for Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

To examine pre–post differences in psychological distress among Rohingya refugees who received community-based mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) through the Paracounsellor Model (PCM) from a quantitative perspective. Pre–post study The current study comprised 580 Rohingya refugee clients who received PCM interventions between July and November 2022. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) scores were compared pre and post with paired t-tests separately for males and females. Among the 580 clients who received the PCM intervention, 477 were included in the current study. Post-intervention GHQ-12 scores were significantly lower than pre-intervention scores for both genders ( p <.001). The effect size calculated using Cohen’s d was 2.0 for males and 1.2 for females. This study investigated the effectiveness of community-based MHPSS by trained non-specialists for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from a quantitative perspective. The results suggest that PCM interventions are effective in improving the mental health of Rohingya refugees.