About this Research Topic

Background

People living in war zones are exposed to numerous stressors, including physical harm, psychological trauma, loss, deprivation, bereavement, or abuse. In recent years, there has been growing acceptance that war-related stressors have the potential to pose a risk to health. Epidemiological studies also reveal the health consequences associated with war and trauma and agree that post-traumatic stress disorder and depression are common in war-affected populations. Since the turn of the last century, there have also been changes in the conception of war. Nowadays, wars have evolved into a new form that can affect larger masses, instead of hand-to-hand combat with cannons and rifles.

War is an artificial disaster and differs from the kind of natural pandemic disaster that affects the whole world. Countless deaths forced abandonment of homes, families, friends, and property, and severe anxiety about war are experienced because of the war-related conditions for millions of humans.

Under the threat of war, there are massive human influxes from regions to nearby countries. The environment of peace and tranquillity in the world and among humanity has deteriorated. It can be thought that the world has grown smaller, and the world's people have become almost one community. The consequences of the war spread fast and far, to neighbors and beyond, hitting hardest the world's most vulnerable people. It is known that wars in their new form, therefore, not only remain regional, but also create even more devastating global consequences for mental health and care.

In this case, what are our responsibilities as mental health professionals? With this Research Topic, we aim to address the new types of wars of the modern age, which we frequently identify as economic warfare, terrorist attack, and ecological destruction, and to reveal the serious traumatic experiences they cause to people. These aims will be contextualized with the following keywords:

• war and asylum
• migration and refugees
• genocide
• terrorist activities
• the Cold War
• economic war
• ecological warfare
• military health and nursing.

We consider the articles that will include what the people of the world did, what they experienced, and what they witnessed from a supranational perspective during periods of war and social trauma as cultural heritage that has been recorded in history. For this reason, we will be accepting the articles that authors want to convey to the future with the care and respect they deserve.

Keywords: health, mental health, globalization, trauma, war

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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