“My home is (now) at peace” : Evaluating the relevance, acceptability and potential scalability of a guided self-help intervention for male refugees in Uganda

In humanitarian crises, male refugees face significant mental health challenges, including high rates of depression and alcohol misuse. However, access to adequate mental health services is limited. In this study, we evaluate a combined intervention that addresses both mental health and alcohol misuse among male refugees in Uganda, focusing on its relevance, acceptability, and potential for scalability.

 

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Response to Challenges Regarding the Provision of Early Intervention Services During the Conflict in Ukraine

The article discusses the early childhood intervention service in Ukraine, which operates in long-term cycles. Early intervention is a service for families with children aged 0 to 4 years who have developmental disorders or are at risk of developing them. The service is family-based, routine-based and transdisciplinary. The article highlights the impact of conflict on children, noting that ongoing negative experiences, or “toxic stress,” can severely affect their development.

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Practices of Congolese Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Providers : A Qualitative Study on Gaps and Obstacles

Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services, including services related to sexual and reproductive health problems, are highly unaddressed in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We present findings of a qualitative study that reveals three gaps related to the knowledge and skills of staff in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to provide proper MHPSS, with integrated care for sexual and reproductive health.

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Physical Activity Training for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Professionals in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) practitioners play a key role in promoting and protecting the mental health of forcibly displaced communities. Physical activity (PA) is an evidence-based, cross-cutting strategy to protect and promote mental and physical health and increase resilience. Although PA is recommended, implementation remains ad hoc. Strengthening the collaboration between PA and mental health workforces may help bridge this gap between knowledge and practice.

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Hot and Bothered : Applying the Five Elements Framework to the Climate Crisis

The climate crisis is exacerbating humanitarian crises and significantly impacting mental health and psychosocial wellbeing globally. This paper explores the application of Hobfoll’s five essential elements framework—promoting safety, calming, self-efficacy, connectedness, and hope—to address the mental health impacts of the climate crisis. Drawing from existing literature and practical experience, the paper examines how climate change affects mental health through multiple pathways, leading to increased rates of mental health conditions and psychological distress.

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A Healthy Environment for a Healthy Mind : Mental Health Risks Attached to Poor Housing among Congolese refugees living in Yeoville, Johannesburg

This article explores spatial inequality as a conceptual framework to understand the link between poor housing, environmental degradation, and mental health. The dire housing conditions are one of the many struggles that refugees face in South Africa. This paper emerged from fieldwork carried out between 2020 and 2022 among Congolese refugees in Yeoville, a suburb of Johannesburg. They were included in a research project investigating the existing association between displacement, gendered violence, and mental ill-health among internally displaced persons, refugees, and asylum seekers.

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Agreement for posttraumatic stress symptoms among unaccompanied young refugees and professional caregivers

Background: Prevalence rates for posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in unaccompanied young refugees (UYRs) are high. Research with biological parents indicates low agreement rates between self and caregiver reports for PTSS, although caregivers play an important role as gatekeepers to ensure appropriate treatment.

 

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Assessing local service providers’ needs for scaling up MHPSS interventions for Ukrainian refugees : Insights from Poland, Slovakia, and Romania

Providing Mental Health and Psychosocial Support interventions (MHPSS) for forcibly displaced Ukrainians in Central and Eastern Europe poses numerous challenges due to various socio-cultural and infrastructural factors. This qualitative study explored implementation barriers reported by service providers of in-person and digital MHPSS for Ukrainian refugees displaced to Poland, Romania and Slovakia due to the war. In addition, the study aimed to generate recommendations to overcome these barriers.

 

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Scaling up mental health service provision through multisectoral integration : A qualitative analysis of factors shaping delivery and uptake among South Sudanese refugees and healthcare workers in Uganda

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

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Integration of psychological interventions in multi-sectoral humanitarian programmes : a systematic review

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.

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