Background: The Baqa'a refugee camp is the largest in Jordan, home to some 104,000 Palestine refugees. Barriers to accessing and consuming mental health services in Arab-refugees are well documented in the literature however few studies have been conducted hitherto to identify barriers for Palestine refugees with psychological problems residing in refugee camps in Jordan. Aim: To identify the barriers to accessing and consuming mental health services for Palestine refugees with psychological problems residing in Baqa'a refugee camp in Jordan and to formulate policy recommendations to overcome those barriers. Methods: 16 qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals working at health centres for Palestine refugees in Jordan, 14 of which were in health centres at Baqa'a refugee camp and the remaining two at the Field Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Amman, Jordan. All the interviews were recorded and transcribed and thematic analyses conducted. Ethical approval was granted by the University of Leeds and UNRWA. Results: 16/16 (100%) respondents reported that resource and financial deficits were the most common barriers that contributed towards the treatment gap. Sex (15/16, (94%)), stigma and religion (12/16, (75%)) and culture (10/16, (63%)) were other major barriers identified. Discussion: Our findings help to elucidate the contributory factors towards the treatment gap between Palestine refugees with psychological problems residing in Baqa'a refugee camp in Jordan and mental health services therein. Policy recommendations based on our results are formulated and are discussed in this research paper. © 2017 Medicinska naklada - Zagreb, Croatia.

Mental health policy Refugees Palestinians Global mental health Psychology trauma

refugee mental health service Jordan health care personnel human Refugees controlled study Arab Mental Health Services Arabs qualitative research informed consent cross-sectional study Humans Adolescent semi structured interview female pilot study refugee camp Conference Paper Refugee Camps thematic analysis adult Palestinian cohort analysis Health Services Accessibility health care delivery