Interventions addressing mental health in conflict-affected settings: A literature review
Abstract
The burden of mental health disorders is high in conflict-affected populations. However, there is still limited evidence from studies that measure the effectiveness of mental health interventions implemented in conflict and post-conflict settings. This study presents the results of a literature review aiming to identify those mental health interventions that have been implemented in such contexts. A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus and PsycINFO leading to the identification of 33 relevant studies reporting on results of mental health-focused interventions with pre- and post- measurements. Eighteen studies were randomized clinical trials (RCTs), five were quasi-experimental and 10 were studies without controls. They covered 21 countries. Five RCTs reported effect sizes that were categorized as large. Their intervention models were Resource-Oriented Trauma Therapy (ROTATE), Problem Management Plus (PM+), a version of Narrative Exposure Therapy adapted for forensic offenders (FORNET), a contextual adaptation of the Unified Protocol (CXA-UP) and Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA) respectively. Five other RCTs showed moderate effect sizes. All quasi-experimental studies and studies without controls reported some level of improvement in clients' well-being. Target groups and intervention types as well as providers of the interventions differed significantly across studies, as did outcome measures. PM + and NET including FORNET are the…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
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