The Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (Sesri) at Qatar University (QU) organised a virtual lecture on Qatar’s National Mental Health Study recently Dr Salma Mawfek Khaled, a research associate professor from Sesri-QU, delivered the lecture to a large audience of researchers and attendees interested in health in general and mental health in particular.

In addition, she assured the public that this research study would play an important role in supporting the initiation of the necessary foundation for sustaining research productivity in the field of population mental health in Qatar. She also opened the floor for discussion, while answering questions from the public.
Professor Kaltham al-Ghanim, director of Sesri-QU, added that the institute, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation, is conducting the study, which is the first of its kind in the country. It collects comprehensive data on the prevalence and associated factors of mental disorders to enhance one's understanding of the epidemiology of mental illness in Qatar’s society today, according to a press statement by QU. The Sesri team has successfully completed 2,500 out of 5,000 target interviews so far.
The study is part of an international collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Harvard University and University of Michigan. It is an initiative that has collected data in more than 30 countries worldwide (Lebanon, Iraq, US, France, Germany, Japan, etc) and has been instrumental in supporting countries to establish the necessary infrastructure to collect representative epidemiological data of population mental health.
Using well-tested methodology approved by the WHO, the interviews are conducted in Arabic and the target population includes Qataris and Arab expatriates 18 years old and above who are randomly selected to participate in the telephone survey.
Those who are selected for participation will be sent an SMS link from Qatar University (QUsms) and receive a phone call from one of the study interviewers. Participation in the study is voluntary and anonymous. Professor al-Ghanim urges those who have been randomly selected from the public to participate in the study to complete the phone interview conducted by highly trained and professional research interviewers from the Computer Assisted Telephone lab at Sesri.
For more information about the study, one can visit www.wmhqatar.com