Evidence Aid Bulletin: 11 June 2024
Welcome to the June 2024 bulletin!
Following the recent seventy-seventh World Health Assembly, several key health issues were highlighted, including the critical importance of not overlooking mental health during emergencies. Most people experience distress in emergencies; for some, it subsides, while for others, it can develop into more severe conditions. Consequently, it is not surprising that common disorders like anxiety and depression are more than doubled during humanitarian crises. Though this may appear grim, emergencies can drive mental health reforms, creating opportunities for improvement through short-term focus on mental health and increased aid. Furthermore, with the support of organisations that emphasise the importance of mental health, there is hope that it will remain a priority. Evidence Aid, in particular, advocates for mental health as a crucial component of overall health that should not be overlooked, emphasising the need for evidence-based reasoning and research support.
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Mental health and psychosocial support services for refugees delivered by community members
In this systematic review, the authors explored research around the effectiveness, implementation and sustainability of mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) provided by trained individuals in migrant populations. They discovered that support provided by lay counsellors in humanitarian settings within low- and middle-income countries improved mental health outcomes. Furthermore, they emphasized the need for robust implementation and support criteria for staff to follow, with the aim of fostering the future development of MHPSS interventions.
Citation: Cohen F, et al. Task-shifting for refugee mental health and psychosocial support: A scoping review of services in humanitarian settings through the lens of RE-AIM. Implementation Research and Practice. 2021;2:26334895219987903.
Read the full summary in our Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers collection.
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Psychological and social interventions for survivors of torture
In this Cochrane review, the authors investigated controlled trials evaluating the impact of psychological, social, or welfare interventions for torture survivors. They found that while psychological therapy did not provide immediate benefits, some evidence, albeit of low quality, supported Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) as moderately effective in reducing symptoms of distress and post-traumatic stress. The authors highlighted gaps in the knowledge, including the scarcity of social or welfare interventions for torture survivors, the lack of studies focused on children or adolescents, the impact of time elapsed from torture to treatment, treatment settings and format, and the generalizability of findings for individuals with more nuanced symptoms. They advocated for a broader definition of the problems faced by torture survivors beyond PTSD symptoms and emphasized the need to assess these issues keeping culture and language in mind.
Citation: Patel N, et al. Psychological, social and welfare interventions for psychological health and well‐being of torture survivors. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2014;(11):CD009317.
Read the full summary in our Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers and Managing Mental Injuries in Disasters collections.
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Mental health disorders after disasters caused by natural hazards
The authors of this systematic review assessed the impact of disasters on mental health. They found that such disasters are associated with an increased risk of mental disorders, exacerbated by factors like unemployment, income loss, and existing medical conditions. Additionally, the mental health impact of natural hazards varied across countries: “high human development” countries experienced higher rates of mental illnesses after disasters but lower-income countries are disproportionately affected by disasters caused by climate change. These findings highlight the importance of healthcare service access, community resilience building and strategic planning to help address the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable populations and the need to continue research on this topic.
Citation: Keya TA, et al. Mental health disorders due to disaster exposure: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Cureus. 2023;15(4):e37031.
Read the full summary in our Windstorms, Earthquakes and Managing Mental Injuries in Disasters collections.
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We hope that our evidence-based perspectives shed light on crucial issues that impact us collectively and that our summaries serve as valuable tools for understanding research that contributes to improving our world. For a deeper look into our resources and further insights, explore our various collections here.
From,
Your Evidence Aid team