[Diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Refugees: Are We Asking The Right Questions?]

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a severe and disabling clinical condition that usually arises in late adolescence or early adulthood and, if left untreated, has a chronic course. The concept of OCD has considerably varied across history and cultures. Among refugees from arab cultures; religious and contamination obsessions were found to be the commonest kind of obsessive thoughts. This makes diagnosing OCD even more challenging due to associated shame and guilt which delays help-seeking behavior. The use of culturally sensitive diagnostic instruments is important to correctly identify obsessive compulsive symptoms in refugee populations. We propose adapting the Zohar-Fineberg Obsessive Compulsive Screen (ZF-OCS) in its Arabic version to address religious and contamination obsessions safely and explicitly.