Emerging Socio-Political Determinants of Mental Health.

Abstract

Protests, social unrest, and other forms of collective actions have taken place in more than 180 countries over the past half century, accounting for 99% of the world’s population. Social unrest is rising globally, including in numerous large prosperous cities in the past year. Despite this extensive history, collective actions as an emerging socio-political determinant of mental health remains largely unassessed. Here, we present a systematic review of literature and evidence from prospective cohort studies of the population-wide impact of social unrest on mental health. We show the mental health burden, risk factors and health care needs during major collective actions. This has important implications for health-care professionals, service planners, and policy makers on the need for mental health and psychosocial support during and after collective actions to better protect mental health.