Improving adolescent mental health and protection in humanitarian settings: longitudinal findings from a multi-arm randomized controlled trial of child-friendly spaces among South Sudanese refugees in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: The effects of conflict and displacement on adolescent mental health and protection are profound and can have lasting consequences. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of two group-based psychosocial interventions on mental health and protection of South Sudanese refugee adolescents. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was done in four villages within the Omugo extension of Rhino Camp refugee settlement in the West Nile region of Uganda. Male and female adolescents (aged 9-14 years) were randomly assigned to attend 12 weeks of either a Standard psychosocial intervention delivered in a child-friendly space (CFS) or a more structured sequential delivery of psychosocial sessions guided by a newly developed Toolkit for Child-Friendly Spaces in Humanitarian Settings. The primary outcomes were psychological distress and resilience 12 months after baseline assessment. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03897894. RESULTS: Between May 28, 2019, and February 20, 2020, 1,280 eligible adolescents were recruited. With 70.2% retention at follow-up, 214 assigned to the Standard, 211 assigned to the Toolkit, and 370 assigned to the waitlist control were included in the intention-to-treat and as-treated analysis. Both the Toolkit and Standard approaches were more effective in reducing psychological distress and perceived protection risks reported by adolescents compared to no intervention. Differential intervention impacts are indicated in subgroup analyses. CONCLUSIONS: The trial found that both psychosocial interventions when implemented in a CFS are well suited as a first-line mental health and violence prevention intervention for adolescent populations exposed to conflict and forced displacement. Where feasible, CFS should be implemented as a primary response strategy soon after displacement to improve psychological health and reduce the risk environment for adolescents.

Impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of children with epilepsy including nodding syndrome in Uganda: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions on the access and use of health services by children with epilepsy including nodding syndrome in Uganda. METHODS: Four focus group discussions (FGD) with parents/caregivers of children with epilepsy and five in-depth interviews with key informants were conducted between April and May 2021 at Butabika National Mental Referral Hospital and Kitgum General Hospital. RESULTS: COVID-19-related restrictions, including the halting of non-essential services and activities, and suspension of public transport, created several challenges not only for children with epilepsy and their parents/caregivers but also for their healthcare providers. Study participants described extreme transport restrictions that reduced their access to healthcare care services, increased food insecurity and shortage or inability to afford essential medicines as consequences of COVID-19-related restrictions. However, parents/caregivers and healthcare workers adopted several coping strategies for these challenges. Parents/caregivers mentioned taking on casual work to earn an income to buy food, medicines, and other necessities. Healthcare workers intensified outreach services to affected communities. A positive impact of lockdown measures described by some FGD participants was that most family members stayed at home and were able to care for children with epilepsy in turn. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the significant negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions on access to health services and the general well-being of children with epilepsy. Decentralized epilepsy treatment services and nutritional support could reduce the suffering of children with epilepsy and their families during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and similar future emergencies.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on persons with epilepsy in Uganda: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the disease course, lives, and psychosocial wellbeing of persons with epilepsy (PWE) in Uganda. METHODS: From April 2021 till May 2021, we carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study at four hospitals located in four regions of Uganda. PWE presenting at the study sites were offered a structured questionnaire in the local language. We used the PHQ-9 questionnaire to screen for depression and the GAD-7 to screen for anxiety. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate factors associated with anxiety and depression. RESULTS: A total of 370 responses were collected. The median age of the respondents was 20.5 years (IQR 15-29), and 51.9% were males. During the lockdown period, the seizure frequency increased in 87 (23.5%) PWE. Various forms of physical and psychological violence were inflicted upon 106 (28.6%) PWE. Fifty-eight (15.7%) screened positive for anxiety and 65 (17.6%) positive for depression. Both increased seizure frequency and experienced violence were associated with experiencing depression and anxiety. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown impacted seizure frequency and the psychosocial wellbeing of PWE in Uganda. Increased seizure frequency was associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression. This underlines the importance of continued follow-up of PWE and a low threshold to screen for depression, anxiety, and domestic violence.

Stigma and epilepsy in onchocerciasis-endemic regions in Africa: a review and recommendations from the onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy working group.

BACKGROUND: In onchocerciasis-endemic areas, particularly in those with a sub-optimal onchocerciasis control programme, a high prevalence of epilepsy is observed. Both onchocerciasis and epilepsy are stigmatizing conditions. The first international workshop on onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy (OAE) was held in Antwerp, Belgium (12-14 October 2017) and during this meeting, an OAE alliance was established. In this paper, we review what is known about epilepsy-associated stigma in onchocerciasis-endemic regions, and present the recommendations of the OAE alliance working group on stigma. MAIN BODY: For this scoping review, literature searches were performed on the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct using the search terms "epilepsy AND onchocerciasis AND stigma". Hand searches were also undertaken using Google Scholar, and in total seven papers were identified that addressed epilepsy-related stigma in an onchocercisasis-endemic area. Due to the limited number of published research papers on epilepsy-associated stigma in onchocerciasis-endemic areas, other relevant literature that describes important aspects related to stigma is discussed. The thematic presentation of this scoping review follows key insights on the barriers to alleviating the social consequences of stigma in highly affected onchocerciasis-endemic areas, which were established by experts during the working group on stigma and discrimination at the first international workshop on OAE. These themes are: knowledge gaps, perceived disease aetiology, access to education, marriage restrictions, psycho-social well-being, burden on the care-giver and treatment seeking behaviour. Based on the literature and expert discussions during the OAE working group on stigma, this paper describes important issues regarding epilepsy-related stigma in onchocerciasis-endemic regions and recommends interventions that are needed to reduce stigma and discrimination for the improvement of the psycho-social well-being of persons with epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS: Educating healthcare workers and communities about OAE, strengthening onchocerciasis elimination programs, decreasing the anti-epileptic treatment gap, improving the care of epilepsy-related injuries, and prioritising epilepsy research is the way forward to decreasing the stigma associated with epilepsy in onchocerciasis-endemic regions.