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.

Measuring hope: psychometric properties of the children's Hope Scale among South Sudanese refugee children.

We investigated the psychometric properties of the Children's Hope Scale among a sample of 1,118 South Sudanese refugee children (570 girls, 548 boys) aged 9 to 14 years displaced in Uganda. We assessed the underlying factor structure and model fit through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and measurement invariance by sex and developmental stage. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed good fit for a one-factor model with the error terms of items 1 and 3 and items 4 and 6 allowed to covary. There was no evidence of differential item functioning by group. Evidence from this study supports the use of a unidimensional model of hopefulness across groups and signifies the importance of confirming these properties for measures used to evaluate humanitarian interventions.

Community-based surveillance of unaccompanied and separated children in drought-affected northern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Children separated from their caregivers in humanitarian emergencies are vulnerable to multiple risks. However, no field-tested methods exist to capture ongoing changes in the frequency and nature of separation in these contexts over the course of a protracted crisis. METHODS: Recognizing this gap, a mobile phone-based surveillance system was established in a drought-affected district in northern Ethiopia to assess the feasibility of using community focal points to monitor cases of unaccompanied and separated children. A total of 29 focal points were recruited through village elections from 10 villages in the district. Feasibility was assessed directly by measuring the number and quality of messages sent by the focal points each week. The team also evaluated the implementation process and any challenges that arose through observations and key informant interviews with focal points at the conclusion of the project measuring frequency of employing various information gathering techniques, challenges faced, and perceptions of community expectations. Likert scales were used to measure overall satisfaction with the experience of being a focal point, self-assessed difficulty of being a focal point, perceived likelihood of cases captured, and motivation. RESULTS: Over a six-month period, the focal points reported 48 cases of separation. The majority of separated children (64.6%) were 10 years of age or older. Work was a major driver of separation, especially for boys. Age, sex, role in community, and density of community had no statistically significant impact on focal point performance in terms of frequency, accuracy, or consistency of messages. The focal points themselves reported high levels of motivation, but suggested several areas for improvement in the surveillance system. CONCLUSIONS: Without the surveillance system, most of these children would have otherwise been unrecognized. From a technical standpoint the system was successful and resilient in the face of unexpected external challenges. However, focal point participation and accuracy was variable over time and across groups and diminished towards the later months of the study, suggesting that the community-based approach may require additional supports to ensure that the surveillance system is able to accurately capture trends over time.