Psychosocial support to foster social cohesion between refugee and host communities in Jordan

The internal conflict in Syria has displaced large numbers of the population into neighbouring countries since the uprising in 2011. The large influx of displaced people into Jordan poses great challenges to the international community as well as local authorities, with increasing competition for already scarce resources and services creating rising tensions between refugee and host communities.

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Highlighting the gender disparities in mental health among Syrian refugees in Jordan

Jordan has been a host country to many refugees from neighbouring countries for many years and has recently become a place of refuge for thousands of Syrians. The Syrian crisis has resulted in millions of Syrians fleeing their homes, uncertain of When they will return. Most of those seeking refuge have witnessed and/or experienced traumatic events that have affected their mental well-being in addition to starting over as refugees. Despite the large number of non-profit organizations providing free mental health services to refugees, not everyone has equal access to these services.

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Stigma experienced by families with members with intellectual disabilities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Introduction: This article outlines the results of a participatory action research project to (a) understand stigma experienced by family members of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo and (b) identify strategies used by these family members to mitigate or cope with stigma.

 

Methods: We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with family members of people with ID.

 

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Dance movement strategies training to help rebuild social capital in Colombia

Building social capital within a post-conflict scenario is key to achieving sustainable peace. The authors implemented an intervention consisting of a 120-h training programme in dance movement strategies in five violence-affected municipalities in Colombia (n=150). The aim of the intervention was to assess any possible changes in the participants’ states of mindfulness, bodily connection, emotional intelligence, somatic complaints, aggressive reaction, empathy, agency, and subjective emotional experience.

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Trauma-related mental health problems and effectiveness of a stress management group in national humanitarian workers in the Central African Republic

The aim of this study is to assess the levels of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in national aid workers in Central African Republic as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of a stress management group in reducing those symptoms. Twenty-seven stress management groups were evaluated in two international non-governmental organisations in which 197 national humanitarian aid workers took part. There was a significant decrease in the intensity of every psychopathological variable tested despite a decrease in the sample between the pre- and post-tests.

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‘Better to Drown’ : A Greek Refugee Camp’s Epidemic of Misery

He survived torture in Congo, and a perilous boat journey from Turkey. But Michael Tamba, a former Congolese political prisoner, came closest to death only after he had supposedly found sanctuary at Europe’s biggest refugee camp.

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Trauma and perceived social rejection among Yazidi women and girls who survived enslavement and genocide

 

Background: In August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a terrorist organization, attacked the Yazidi’s ancestral homeland in northwestern Iraq. Among other atrocities, they abducted thousands of women and girls and traded many of them into sexual slavery. The aim of this study is to determine the mental health of women and girl survivors of these events in relation to enslavement and experiences with genocide-related events, as well as perceived social rejection in their community.

 

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Mental health capacity building in refugee primary health care settings in Sub-Saharan Africa : impact, challenges and gaps

Background. In 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees started a process of mental health capacity building in refugee primary health care settings in seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, ultimately aiming to decrease the treatment gap of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) conditions in these operations.

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Primary care of refugees and migrants : Lesson learnt from the EUR-HUMAN project = Menekültek, migránsok az alapellátásban : Mit tanulhattunk az EUR-HUMAN projekt eredményeiből?

In 2015, local wars, starvation and misery in some Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries forced millions of people to leave their homelands. Many of these people migrated toward Europe, reaching Hungary as well. The refugee crisis created significant challenges for all national healthcare systems across Europe.

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New targets for behaviour change in Ebola outbreaks : ideas for future interventions

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is an infectious disease with serious individual health and population consequences. While Ebola is extremely contagious, the 2014 outbreak in West Africa was the worst to date. Many strategies were implemented for the containment and treatment of the disease, although some were limited by a lack of focus on social and behavioural factors.

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