Experts want practical research to improve mental health of people experiencing humanitarian crises
September 20, 2011 in Psychology & PsychiatryExperts want practical research to help improve mental health of people experiencing humanitarian crises
Experts in regions experiencing humanitarian crises want more research focused on generating and developing practical knowledge that could have tangible benefits in humanitarian settings rather than yet more research on topics, such as the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, that have to date dominated academic debates and research.
These findings are important because such crises affect millions of peoplein 2009, more than 119 million people were affected by natural disasters and there were 36 armed conflicts in 26 countriesand previous research in such settings has demonstrated the negative impact of humanitarian crises on mental health and psychosocial well-being, including increased psychological distress, social problems, and common mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In a study led by Wietse Tol from Yale University in Connecticut, USA and published in this week's PLoS Medicine, researchers developed a consensus-based research agenda to strengthen mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings with input from 82 experts (an interdisciplinary group of academics, policy makers, and practitioners) representing regions where humanitarian crises occur.
The experts agreed that the ten priority research questions should be in areas related to problem analysis (four questions on identifying stressors, problems, and protective factors from the perspective of affected populations); mental health and psychosocial support interventions (three questions on sociocultural adaptation and on effectiveness of family- and school-based prevention); research and information management (two questions on assessment methods and indicators for monitoring and evaluation); and mental health and psychosocial support context (one question on whether interventions address locally perceived needs).
The authors argue that addressing this research agenda would better align researchers and practitioners to focus attention to perspectives of populations affected by humanitarian crises.
The authors conclude: "Our research priority setting initiativethe first of its kind in this particular fieldshowed promising points of agreement between diverse stakeholders on research priorities for mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings."
They continue: "There was a strong endorsement of research that achieves tangible benefits for programming and that gives emphasis to participation with and sensitivity to the specific sociocultural context of the populations living in humanitarian settings."
More information: Tol WA, Patel V, Tomlinson M, Baingana F, Galappatti A, et al. (2011) Research Priorities for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings. PLoS Med 8(9): e1001096. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001096
Provided by
Public Library of Science
-
Researchers call for independent body to monitor deaths in wars and other crises... and more
Jul 01, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New book shines light on French versus British models of humanitarian aid
Jun 21, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
UQ leads research on 'visual' politics
Aug 29, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Afghani children suffering from post-traumatic stress
Jun 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Hardship and human rights violations continue among Burma cyclone survivors
May 09, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
21 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
-
Limits to growth: Scientists identify key metastasis-enabling enzyme
May 22, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
-
Seeing is as seeing does: Spatially-structured retinal input in early development of cortical maps
Apr 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Dreamless nights: Brain activity during nonrapid eye movement sleep
Apr 09, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (12) |
0
-
Take your time: Neurobiology sheds light on the superiority of spaced vs. massed learning
Mar 28, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (21) |
3
-
A question about drug tolerance
May 23, 2012
-
Poor nutrition leading to overeating?
May 23, 2012
-
Math and dyslexia?
May 21, 2012
-
portable metabolism meter?
May 21, 2012
-
Rare medical conditions on 20/20 tonight
May 18, 2012
-
"Good" Cholesterol in Doubt
May 17, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
More mental health care urged for kids who self-harm
(HealthDay) -- Doctors have long known that some kids suffering severe emotional turmoil find relief in physical pain -- cutting or burning or sticking themselves with pins to achieve a form of release.
Psychology & Psychiatry
18 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Questionable research practices surprisingly common
(Medical Xpress) -- Not all scientific misconduct is flat-out fraud. Much falls into the murkier realm of questionable research practices. A new study finds that in one field, psychology, these practices are surprisingly ...
Psychology & Psychiatry
21 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Feeling strong emotions makes peoples' brains 'tick together'
Experiencing strong emotions synchronises brain activity across individuals, research team at Aalto University and Turku PET Centre in Finland has revealed.
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 24, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Formal recognition of PMDD will lift stigma for women
A decision to recognise premenstrual dysphoric disorder as a genuine psychiatric condition will finally provide validation for this awful and poorly understood syndrome and alleviate the stigma ...
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 24, 2012 |
2 / 5 (1) |
1
Long-term meditation leads to different brain organization
(Medical Xpress) -- People who practice mindfulness meditation learn to accept their feelings, emotions, and states of mind without judging or resisting them. They simply live in the moment.
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 24, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
0
|
Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse
(Medical Xpress) -- Regardless of an organism’s biological complexity, every encephalized animal continuously makes under-informed behavioral choices that can have serious consequences. Despite its ubiquity, ...
Tongue analysis software uses ancient Chinese medicine to warn of disease
For 5,000 years, the Chinese have used a system of medicine based on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body. In this system, the appearance of the tongue is one of the measures used to classify ...
Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought
Chromosomal deletions in DNA often involve just one of two gene copies inherited from either parent. But scientists haven't known how a deletion in one gene from one parent, called a "hemizygous" deletion, can contribute ...
Inherited DNA change explains overactive leukemia gene
A small inherited change in DNA is largely responsible for overactivating a gene linked to poor treatment response in people with acute leukemia.
Skp2 activates cancer-promoting, glucose-processing Akt
HER2 and its epidermal growth factor receptor cousins mobilize a specialized protein to activate a major player in cancer development and sugar metabolism, scientists report in the May 25 issue of Cell.
Early physical therapist treatment associated with reduced risk of healthcare utilization and reduced overall healthcare
A new study published in Spine shows that early treatment by a physical therapist for low back pain (LBP), as compared to delayed treatment, was associated with reduced risk of subsequent healthcare utilization and lower ...