Trauma, risk, and resilience: A qualitative study of mental health in post-conflict Liberia.

The Liberian civil wars led to widespread destruction and devastation for its individuals, communities, and economy. However, individuals' subjective trauma experiences and long-term psychological impact remain relatively understudied. This study aims to explore context-specific traumatic events and examine how risk and protective factors combine with traumas to influence trajectories of suffering and recovery over time. We conducted 43 semi-structured interviews with Liberian adults who were present during the Liberian civil wars, and we used line-by-line open coding, thematic analysis, and axial coding to analyze and contextualize the data. Eight key trauma themes emerged: Abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual), Captivity, Combat, Killings, Physical Illness, Resource Loss, Family Separation, and War Environment. The risk and protective factors that were reported as salient were: Age, Biological Sex, Socioeconomic Status, and Community Support. Further, key patterns emerged across interviews that indicated greater risk for long-term suffering: 1) exposure to multiple traumatic events, 2) certain types of traumatic events (like killing of a close family member), and 3) the combination of specific traumatic events and risk and protective factors (like older women witnessing the killing of their children). This study provides culturally relevant information on trauma, suffering, and resilience in post-conflict Liberia, with the aim of guiding the development of screening tools and targeted psychological interventions that improve well-being over time.

Health in All Social Work Programs: Findings From a US National Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a baseline of health content in 4 domains of US social work education-baccalaureate, master's, doctoral, and continuing education programs-and to introduce the Social Work Health Impact Model, illustrating social work's multifaceted health services, from clinical to wide-lens population health approaches. METHODS: We analyzed US social work programs' Web site content to determine amount and types of health content in mission statements, courses, and specializations. Coding criterion determined if content was (1) health or health-related (HHR) and (2) had wide-lens health (WLH) emphasis. A second iteration categorized HHR and WLH courses into health topics. RESULTS: We reviewed 4831 courses. We found broad HHR content in baccalaureate, master's, and continuing education curricula; doctoral programs had limited health content. We identified minimal WLH content across all domains. Topical analysis indicated that more than 50% of courses concentrated on 3 areas: mental and behavioral health, abuse and violence, and substance use and addictions. CONCLUSIONS: As a core health profession, social work must strengthen its health and wide-lens content to better prepare graduates for integrated practice and collaboration in the changing health environment.