Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: research priorities for 2021–30

Tol, Wietse A.; Le, PhuongThao D; Harrison, Sarah L; Galappatti, Ananda; Annan, Jeannie; Baingana, Florence K.; Betancourt, Theresa S.; Bizouerne, Cecile; Eaton, Julian; Engels, Michelle A H; Hijazi, Zeinab; Horn, Rebecca R; Jordans, Mark J. D.; Kohrt, Brandon A.; Koyiet, Phiona; Panter-Brick, Catherine; Pluess, Michael; Rahman, Atif; Silove, Derrick; Tomlinson, Mark; Uribe-Restrepo, José Miguel; Ventevogel, Peter; Weissbecker, Inka; Ager, Alastair; van Ommeren, Mark

doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00128-6

ScienceOpen: research and publishing network

For Publishers

For Researchers

Blog
About

Search
Advanced search

views

recommends

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: research priorities for 2021–30

review-article

Author(s): Wietse A Tol , Prof, PhD ^a ^, ^b ^, ^c ^, ^* , PhuongThao D Le , PhD ^b ^, ^d , Sarah L Harrison , MA ^e , Ananda Galappatti , MSc ^f , Jeannie Annan , PhD ^g , Florence K Baingana , MMed Psych ^h , Theresa S Betancourt , ScD ⁱ , Cecile Bizouerne , PhD ^j , Julian Eaton , MBBS ^k ^, ^l , Michelle Engels , DClinPsy ^m , Zeinab Hijazi , PsyD ⁿ , Rebecca R Horn , PhD ^o , Mark J D Jordans , Prof, PhD ^p ^, ^q , Brandon A Kohrt , Prof, PhD ^r , Phiona Koyiet , MsC ^s , Catherine Panter-Brick , Prof, PhD ^t , Michael Pluess , Prof, PhD ^u , Atif Rahman , Prof, PhD ^v , Derrick Silove , Prof, MD ^w , Mark Tomlinson , Prof, PhD ^x ^, ^y , José Miguel Uribe-Restrepo , Prof, MD ^z , Peter Ventevogel , MD ^aa , Inka Weissbecker , PhD ^ab , Alastair Ager , Prof, PhD ^o ^, ^ac ^, ^† , Mark van Ommeren , PhD ^ab ^, ^†

Publication date (Electronic): 25 April 2023

Journal: The Lancet. Global Health

Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

Read this article at

ScienceOpen Publisher PMC

Bookmark

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Summary

We describe an effort to develop a consensus-based research agenda for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions in humanitarian settings for 2021–30. By engaging a broad group of stakeholders, we generated research questions through a qualitative study (in Indonesia, Lebanon, and Uganda; n=101), consultations led by humanitarian agencies (n=259), and an expert panel (n=227; 51% female participants and 49% male participants; 84% of participants based in low-income and middle-income countries). The expert panel selected and rated a final list of 20 research questions. After rating, the MHPSS research agenda favoured applied research questions (eg, regarding workforce strengthening and monitoring and evaluation practices). Compared with research priorities for the previous decade, there is a shift towards systems-oriented implementation research (eg, multisectoral integration and ensuring sustainability) rather than efficacy research. Answering these research questions selected and rated by the expert panel will require improved partnerships between researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and communities affected by humanitarian crises, and improved equity in funding for MHPSS research in low-income and middle-income countries.

Related collections

Most cited references 21

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Fiona J. Charlson, Mark van Ommeren, Abraham Flaxman … (2019)

Summary Background Existing WHO estimates of the prevalence of mental disorders in emergency settings are more than a decade old and do not reflect modern methods to gather existing data and derive estimates. We sought to update WHO estimates for the prevalence of mental disorders in conflict-affected settings and calculate the burden per 1000 population. Methods In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we updated a previous systematic review by searching MEDLINE (PubMed), PsycINFO, and Embase for studies published between Jan 1, 2000, and Aug 9, 2017, on the prevalence of depression, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. We also searched the grey literature, such as government reports, conference proceedings, and dissertations, to source additional data, and we searched datasets from existing literature reviews of the global prevalence of depression and anxiety and reference lists from the studies that were identified. We applied the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting and used Bayesian meta-regression techniques that adjust for predictors of mental disorders to calculate new point prevalence estimates with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) in settings that had experienced conflict less than 10 years previously. Findings We estimated that the prevalence of mental disorders (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia) was 22·1% (95% UI 18·8–25·7) at any point in time in the conflict-affected populations assessed. The mean comorbidity-adjusted, age-standardised point prevalence was 13·0% (95% UI 10·3–16·2) for mild forms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder and 4·0% (95% UI 2·9–5·5) for moderate forms. The mean comorbidity-adjusted, age-standardised point prevalence for severe disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, severe anxiety, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder) was 5·1% (95% UI 4·0–6·5). As only two studies provided epidemiological data for psychosis in conflict-affected populations, existing Global Burden of Disease Study estimates for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were applied in these estimates for conflict-affected populations. Interpretation The burden of mental disorders is high in conflict-affected populations. Given the large numbers of people in need and the humanitarian imperative to reduce suffering, there is an urgent need to implement scalable mental health interventions to address this burden. Funding WHO; Queensland Department of Health, Australia; and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

0 comments Cited 483 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

The need for a complex systems model of evidence for public health

Harry Rutter, Natalie Savona, Ketevan Glonti … (2017)

0 comments Cited 350 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Consensus methods for medical and health services research.

J Jones, D Hunter (1995)

Health providers face the problem of trying to make decisions in situations where there is insufficient information and also where there is an overload of (often contradictory) information. Statistical methods such as meta-analysis have been developed to summarise and to resolve inconsistencies in study findings--where information is available in an appropriate form. Consensus methods provide another means of synthesising information, but are liable to use a wider range of information than is common in statistical methods, and where published information is inadequate or non-existent these methods provide a means of harnessing the insights of appropriate experts to enable decisions to be made. Two consensus methods commonly adopted in medical, nursing, and health services research--the Delphi process and the nominal group technique (also known as the expert panel)--are described, together with the most appropriate situations for using them; an outline of the process involved in undertaking a study using each method is supplemented by illustrations of the authors' work. Key methodological issues in using the methods are discussed, along with the distinct contribution of consensus methods as aids to decision making, both in clinical practice and in health service development.

0 comments Cited 311 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Contributors

Wietse A Tol

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Lancet Glob Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Lancet Glob Health

Title: The Lancet. Global Health

Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

ISSN (Electronic): 2214-109X

Publication date PMC-release: 25 April 2023

Publication date Collection: June 2023

Publication date (Electronic): 25 April 2023

Volume: 11

Issue: 6

Pages: e969-e975

Affiliations

[a ]Section of Global Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

[b ]Peter C Alderman Program for Global Mental Health, HealthRight International, New York, NY, USA

[c ]Athena Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[d ]School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA

[e ]International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support, Copenhagen, Denmark

[f ]Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Network (MHPSS.net), Colombo, Sri Lanka

[g ]Airbel Impact Lab, The International Rescue Committee, New York, NY, USA

[h ]WHO African Region Advisor, MNS, Brazzaville, Congo

[i ]Boston College, School of Social Work, Research Program on Children and Adversity, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

[j ]Mental Health, PsychoSocial Support and Protection Sector, Action Contre la Faim, Paris, France

[k ]Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK

[l ]CBM Global, Amstelveen, Netherlands

[m ]International Medical Corps, Washington, DC, USA

[n ]Mental Health Unit, Programme Division, UNICEF, New York, NY, USA

[o ]Institute for Global Health & Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK

[p ]Centre for Global Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK

[q ]Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

[r ]Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

[s ]World Vision International, Nairobi, Kenya

[t ]Department of Anthropology and Jackson School of Global Affairs, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

[u ]Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

[v ]Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

[w ]University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

[x ]Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

[y ]School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK

[z ]Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia

[aa ]Public Health Section, Division of Resilience and Solutions, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva, Switzerland

[ab ]Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

[ac ]Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Author notes

[* ]Correspondence to: Prof Wietse A Tol, Section of Global Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 1356, Denmark wietse.tol@ 123456sund.ku.dk

[†]

Contributed equally

Article

Publisher Item ID: S2214-109X(23)00128-6

DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00128-6

PMC ID: 10188364

PubMed ID: 37116530

SO-VID: 0f79b473-a7aa-47bd-bd86-fbfada33303a

License:

This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

History

Comments

Comment on this article

scite_

Smart Citations

Citing PublicationsSupportingMentioningContrasting

View Citations

See how this article has been cited at scite.ai

scite shows how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation, a classification describing whether it supports, mentions, or contrasts the cited claim, and a label indicating in which section the citation was made.

Cited by 13

See all cited by

Most referenced authors 321

See all reference authors

Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: research priorities for 2021–30

Read this article at

Summary

Related collections

Stigmatisation of mental illnesses

Most cited references 21

New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The need for a complex systems model of evidence for public health

Consensus methods for medical and health services research.

Author and article information

Contributors

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 216

Cited by 13

Most referenced authors 321