Pre-deployment mental health and trauma exposure of expatriate humanitarian aid workers: risk and resilience factors

Abstract
Expatriate aid workers (n = 214) representing 19 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) completed a predeployment
survey, including measures of mental health (depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]); risk factors
(childhood trauma, family risk, and adult trauma exposure); and resilience factors (coping, social support, and healthy lifestyle)
to assess their baseline mental health during preparation for deployment. Multiple regression analysis indicated that childhood

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The development of a training covering coping strategies for local social educators working in the violent slums of Rio de Janeiro

Residents, living in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, are almost daily confronted with drug related violence. Similarly, local social educators working with children and young adults in these slums, also frequently live amidst this extreme violence. However, while this gives them a thorough understanding of the needs of the people they work with, it may also sometimes interfere with their ability to assist others, and they may sometimes be in need of support themselves.

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Engaging war affected youth through photography: Photovoice with former child soldiers in Sierra Leone

Photovoice is a community based participatory research method that combines photography, community awareness building, group discussions, and social action. Photovoice seeks to enable both individuals and groups, particularly those facing marginalisation and disempowerment, to record and re£ect on community strengths and challenges, through photography. This paper presents a Photo voice project, conducted with a group of former child soldiers living in urban Sierra Leone, exploring their post war lives and reintegration experiences.

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Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings : linking practice and research

This review links practice, funding, and evidence for interventions for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in humanitarian settings.

 

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I hear you, you hear me. Sociotherapy in Rwanda

Ten significant change stories gathered from after care participants by sociotherapists of the Anglican Church of Rwanda and Faith Victory Association Nyamata.

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Consultancy Report DR Congo, Katanga - Shamwana

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Arq International Program (AIP) : Premises and Pursuits

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Social capital and health : implications for health promotion

AbstractThis article is a review of the PhD Thesis of Malin Eriksson, entitled 'Social capital, health and community action - implications for health promotion.' The article presents a theoretical overview of social capital and its relation to health, reviews empirical findings of the links between social capital and (self-rated) health, and discusses the usefulness of social capital in health promotion interventions at individual and community levels.

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Social capital and post-disaster mental health

AbstractBackground: Despite national and international policies to develop social capital in disaster-affected communities, empiric evidence on the association between social capital and disaster mental health is limited and ambiguous.Objective: The study explores the relationship between social capital and disaster mental health outcomes (PTSD, anxiety, and depression) in combination with individual factors (appraisal, coping behavior, and social support).Design: This is a community-based cross-sectional study in a flood-affected town in northern England.

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Exposure to violence and PTSD symptoms among Somali women

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, exposure to traumatic stressors, and health care utilization were examined in 84 women attending a primary health care clinic in Mogadishu, Somalia. The Somalia-Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale was used in this active warzone to measure symptoms. Nearly all women reported high levels of confrontations with violence, half described being exposed to a potentially traumatizing event. Nearly one third had significant PTSD symptoms.

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