Afghan mental health and psychosocial well-being: thematic review of four decades of research and interventions.

Background: Four decades of war, political upheaval, economic deprivation and forced displacement have profoundly affected both in-country and refugee Afghan populations.

Aims: We reviewed literature on mental health and psychosocial well-being, to assess the current evidence and describe mental healthcare systems, including government programmes and community-based interventions.

Method: In 2022, we conducted a systematic search in Google Scholar, PTSDpubs, PubMed and PsycINFO, and a hand search of grey literature ( = 214 papers).