Two Tell-tale Perspectives of PTSD: Neurobiological Abnormalities and Bayesian Regulatory Network of the Underlying Disorder in a Refugee Context

Global refugee crisis around the world has displaced millions of people from their homes. Although some of them adjust well, many suffer from significant psychological distress, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), owing to exposure to traumatic events and hardships. Here, diagnosis and access to psychological health care present particular challenges for various human-centered design issues. Therefore, analyzing the case of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, we propose a two-way diagnosis of PTSD using (i) short inexpensive questionnaire to determine its prevalence, and (ii) low-cost portable EEG headset to identify potential neurobiological markers of PTSD. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use consumer-grade EEG devices in the scarce-resource settings of refugees. Moreover, we explored the underlying structure of PTSD and its symptoms via developing various hybrid models based on Bayesian inference by combining aspects from both reflective and formative models of PTSD, which is also the first of its kind. Our findings revealed several key components of PTSD and its neurobiological abnormality. Moreover, challenges faced during our study would inform design processes of screening tools and treatments of PTSD to incorporate refugee experience in a more meaningful way during contemporary and future humanitarian crisis.