Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed children and adolescents: meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND:
It is unclear how many children and adolescents develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after trauma.
AIMS:
To determine the incidence of PTSD in trauma-exposed children and adolescents as assessed with well-established diagnostic interviews and to examine potential moderators of the estimate.
METHOD:

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The role of mental health and psychosocial support nongovernmental organisations: reflections from post conflict Nepal

Armed conflicts and other humanitarian crises impact mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. In contexts of overwhelming need and overstretched government health systems, nongovernmental organisations may play important roles. In this paper, we reflect on the role of Nepali nongovernmental organisations in providing mental health and psychosocial support services.

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Dissemination and implementation of evidence based, mental health interventions in post conflict, low resource settings

The burden of mental health problems in (post)conflict low and middle income countries is substantial. Despite growing evidence for the effectiveness of selected mental health programmes in conflict affected low resource settings and growing policy support, actual uptake and implementation have been slow. A key direction for future research, and a new frontier within science and practice, is dissemination and implementation which directly addresses the transfer of evidence based, effective health care approaches from experimental settings into routine use.

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Guidelines for the implementation of culturally sensitive cognitive behavioural therapy among refugees and in global contexts

In this article, we suggest guidelines that should be followed in order to create a culturally sensitive cognitive behavioural therapy among refugees and in global contexts more generally, so as to maximise efficacy and effectiveness. These guidelines can be followed to design culturally sensitive cognitive behavioural therapy studies, or what might be called ‘contextually sensitive cognitive behavioural therapy’, among refugees or other cultural groups in a given global location, and the guidelines can be used to evaluate such studies.

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Using mixed methods to build knowledge of refugee mental health

Mixed methods research, which combines elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches, should be well suited to studying refugee mental health. However, this has not yet been adequately discussed nor demonstrated within the existing scientific literature. This paper aims to begin to fill this gap and describes how mixed methods have been used in refugee mental health research. Twenty-nine articles from the health and social sciences literature were systematically reviewed with a focus on study designs and key findings.

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Addressing collective trauma: conceptualisations and interventions

Complex situations following war and natural disasters have a psychosocial impact not only on the individual, but also their family, community and the larger society. Fundamental changes in the functioning of the family and community can be observed as a result of these impacts. At the family level, the dynamics of single parent families, lack of trust among members, changes in significant relationships and child rearing practices are seen. Communities tend to be more dependent, passive, silent, without leadership, mistrustful and suspicious.

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War experiences, daily stressors and mental health five years on: elaborations and future directions

In this paper, the authors elaborate on a model proposed in 2010 that identifies major sources of stress affecting mental health among war affected populations. That model emphasised the importance of what was termed ‘daily stressors’, as well as direct exposure to war related violence as predictors of mental health status The authors first summarise the original model and discuss the widespread response to the 2010 paper among researchers and practitioners working in conflict and post conflict settings.

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Resource caravans and resource caravan passageways: a new paradigm for trauma responding

We have long outgrown the capacity of the accepted clinical models of trauma, and a paradigm shift in our thinking is long overdue. The data on traumatic stress were posited from a certain cognitive-behavioural viewpoint, with particular emotional components based almost in their entirety on western, mostly white individuals seeking treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder, and focusing on that time frame. As such, mechanisms such as fear and emotional conditioning theory and the ways traumas are encoded in memory only partially explain trauma response.

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Evaluating the psychosocial components of a humanitarian project: describing the effect of an intervention in relation to psychosocial problems

One inescapable fact of most psychosocial interventions is the requirements of donor organisations, often in the form of project or programme evaluations. A group of psychosocial workers working with formerly displaced people, who are now relocated in resettlement areas, were asked by the donors to show that their approach is effective in removing psychosocial problems. In this field report, it is shown that, in this particular case the job of the psychosocial workers can indeed be described in terms of removing psychosocial problems.

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Examining promising practice: an integrated review of services for young survivors of sexual violence in Liberia

In 2012, an integrated review of programmes for young survivors of sexual violence in Liberia was conducted in order to identify promising practice within the context of current prevention and response initiatives. A total of 279 programme related materials were examined as part of a structured document review. In addition, 40 key informant interviews were conducted with representatives from government ministries, United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organisations.

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