ARQ International

Background

The public health burden of intimate partner violence (IPV) is immense, particularly in complex humanitarian emergencies, where up to three in four women report experiencing lifetime IPV. Informed by feminist theory, current interventions addressing IPV in these settings often use gender-transformative approaches to advance more equitable gender attitudes, community mobilisation efforts to engage men in changing gender norms, and economic-focused programming to advance equitable financial decision making within couples.

BACKGROUND: Co-creation has emerged as a crucial strategy for addressing complex public health challenges, including promotion and prevention of mental health concerns. While the evidence base for effective interventions continues to grow, significant gaps remain in their implementation and integration into real-world settings. Co-creation offers a valuable tool for strengthening mental health promotion strategies, ensuring that interventions are evidence-based, contextually relevant, culturally sensitive, sustainable and acceptable to those directly affected.

Background
There is a growing need for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions that can feasibly be provided to larger groups of people, particularly in humanitarian settings. However, scaling up mental health interventions
is notoriously difficult. There are therefore growing calls for integrating mental health outside traditional health structures, both to increase reach and to address social determinants of mental health. The objective of this

Background
Every year, millions of people are affected by humanitarian crises. With a growing population of people affected, the need for coordination and integration of services aiming to improve the effectiveness of mental health and psychosocial support also grows. In this study, we examine how psychological interventions in humanitarian settings globally have been implemented through integration into programming outside of formal healthcare delivery through multisectoral integration.

Mental health conditions are prevalent but rarely treated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Little is known about how these conditions affect economic participation. This paper shows that treating mental health conditions substantially improves recipients’ capacity to work in these contexts.

Background The use of feedback to address gaps and reinforce skills is a key component of successful competency-based mental health and psychosocial support intervention training approaches. Competency-based feedback during training and supervision for personnel delivering psychological interventions is vital for safe and effective care.

Forcibly displaced populations are highly vulnerable to psychosocial distress and mental disorders, including alcohol misuse. In an ongoing trial that seeks to develop a transdiagnostic intervention addressing psychological distress and alcohol use disorders among conflict-affected populations, we will carry out a cost-effectiveness evaluation using a capability-based Oxford Capabilities Mental Health (OxCAP-MH) measure. The OxCAP-MH is a 16-item questionnaire developed from the Capability Approach, that covers multiple domains of functioning and welfare.

Armed conflict and forced displacement can significantly strain nurturing family environments, which are essential for child well-being. Yet, limited evidence exists on the effectiveness of family-systemic interventions in these contexts. We  conducted a two-arm, single-masked, feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial (fRCT) of a whole-family intervention with Syrian, Iraqi and Jordanian families in Jordan. Weaimed to determine the feasibility of intervention and study procedures to inform a fully-powered RCT.

There is increasing guidance promoting the provision of mental health and psychosocial support programs to both migrant and host community members in humanitarian settings. However, there is a lack of information on the respective experiences and benefits for migrant and host community members who are participating in mental health and psychosocial support programming.