Effectiveness of community-based mental health and psychosocial support through the Paracounsellor model for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

S Iiyama; T Izutsu; Y Miyamoto; S Yesmin; T Begum; E Mariam; A Tsutsumi

doi:10.1016/j.puhip.2026.100799

Effectiveness of community-based mental health and psychosocial support through the Paracounsellor model for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Public Health Pract (Oxf). 2026 May 10:11:100799. doi: 10.1016/j.puhip.2026.100799. eCollection 2026 Jun.

Authors

S Iiyama¹, T Izutsu², Y Miyamoto¹, S Yesmin³, T Begum⁴, E Mariam⁵, A Tsutsumi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
² Health Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan.
³ Developmental Psychology, Psychology, BRAC IED, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.
⁴ Psychology, BRAC IED, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.
⁵ Education, BRAC IED, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.
⁶ Health Sciences, Institute of Transdisciplinary Sciences for Innovation, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan.

Abstract

Objectives: 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.

Study design: Pre-post study.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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 < 0.001). The effect size calculated using Cohen's d was 2.0 for males and 1.2 for females.

Conclusions: 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.

Keywords: Bangladesh; Community-based intervention; Mental health and psychosocial support; Non-specialist; Rohingya refugees.