Distress, wellbeing and war: qualitative analyses of civilian interviews from north eastern Sri Lanka

This paper outlines a methodology for the development of culturally sensitive measures of war problems (including psychological and behavioural problems) and wellbeing for use among refugees affected by the recently concluded civil war in Sri Lanka. These measures were derived from qualitative data collected from individuals living in areas affected by the civil war. The authors utilised a qualitative data analysis methodology, involving both open coding and thematic analysis.

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Daily stressors in the lives of Sri Lankan youth: a mixed methods approach to assessment in a context of war and natural disaster

This paper describes the use of a mixed methods design to develop the Sri Lankan Children’s Daily Stressor Scale (CDSS).

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Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods to support psychosocial and mental health programmes in complex emergencies. Introduction to this Special Issue

This special edition of Intervention is dedicated to applied research in the field of mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. Here ‘applied’ refers to research useful in programme design, monitoring and evaluation. The issue focuses on disasters and complex emergencies, because conducting research and interventions under these conditions is one of the field’s major challenges.

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Feedback from local staff. Experiences that changed my life: the story of an Afghan woman working with a psychosocial project

In this report the author, an Afghan woman, describes her personal and professional development while working with an international nongovernmental organization in her country. In 1996, under the Taliban regime, she started to work on a project battling malnutrition with the Action Contre la Faim (ACF) She later took part in a psychosocial project to assist women and children. Her professional experiences and personal life are strongly interrelated. The psychosocial work has profoundly changed her situation and her outlook on life.

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Iraqi refugees in Egypt: an exploration of their mental health and psychosocial status

Thousands of Iraqis have settled in Egypt since 2003, escaping death threats, torture, kidnappings and military attacks to face uncertainty in their lives and increasing strain on the psychosocial challenges in their new lives. This explorative study describes the psychosocial stress faced by these Iraqi refugees in Egypt. Two hundred and four Iraqis in Egypt filled in a checklist focussing on four groups of stress factors. The data provided by this study demonstrate the contribution of violence to Iraqi refugees’ life from a number of sources.

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Developing mental health and psychosocial support interventions in an extremely resource poor context: a case example from Southern Sudan

The situation in Southern Sudan poses strong challenges for the development of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services. Local government structures are weak and the health care system is hardly functioning at the primary health care level in terms of human resource, infrastructure and medical equipment. To develop MHPSS in such a context requires a strong focus on capacity building ofthe local staff and awareness activities on the community level though participatory mechanisms.

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Psychosocial support to vulnerable youth in vocational schools in northern Uganda

This report describes the psychosocial interventions of AVSI [an international nongovernmental organization (INGO) operating in Uganda since 1984] in Kitgum District of northern Uganda. These interventions are part of the educational programmes aimed at supporting vulnerable youth through vocational training Apart from the educational support, the beneficiaries of the programme are also offered psychosocial support.

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Coping with displacement: problems and responses in camps for the internally displaced in Kitgum, northern Uganda

Displaced communities respond to the challenges and losses of their changed circumstances by drawing on their remaining resources. The challenge for those working in such contexts is how to effectively combine these community initiatives with their own organisational resources. This paper reports a study of 112 residents of four camps for internally displaced Ugandans. The respondents were primarily concerned with the structural, social and economic difficulties that affected them.

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Child Led Indicators: pilot testing a child participation tool for psychosocial support programmes for former child soldiers in Nepal

There is increasing attention given to participatory projects with marginalized children and young people, in the absence of child protection. In Nepal, a process was developed to provide a framework for more systematic participation of children in psychosocial programming, geared towards facilitating the reintegration for former child soldiers.

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Ex-combatants in South Africa: how to address their needs

South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994. Fourteen years later, it is clear that ex-combatants remain a vulnerable group. A limited disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process has meant that many ex-combatants continue to face serious challenges. A number of nongovernmental organizations have taken up the task of addressing the psychosocial needs of this group. This paper describes their interventions and the impact on ex-combatants, as well as the challenges still facing this group.

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