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Background: longitudinal studies examining mental health trajectories in refugees and asylum seekers are scarce. Objectives: to investigate trajectories of psychological symptoms and wellbeing in refugees and asylum seekers, and identify factors associated with these trajectories. Method: 912 asylum seekers and refugees from the control arm of three trials in Europe (n = 229), Turkey (n = 320), and Uganda (n = 363) were included. We described trajectories of psychological symptoms and wellbeing, and used trauma exposure, age, marital status, education, and individual trial as predictors. Then, we assessed the bidirectional interactions between wellbeing and psychological symptoms, and the effect of each predictor on each outcome controlling for baseline values. Results: symptom improvement was identified in all trials, and for wellbeing in 64.7% of participants in Europe and Turkey, versus 31.5% in Uganda. In Europe and Turkey domestic violence predicted increased symptoms at post-intervention (ss = 1.36, 95% CI 0.17-2.56), whilst murder of family members at 6-month follow-up (ss = 1.23, 95% CI 0.27-2.19). Lower wellbeing was predicted by murder of family member (ss = -1.69, 95% CI -3.06 to -0.32), having been kidnapped (ss = -1.67, 95% CI -3.19 to -0.15), close to death (ss = -1.38, 95% CI -2.70 to -0.06), and being in the host country >= 2 years (ss = -1.60, 95% CI -3.05 to -0.14). In Uganda at post-intervention, having been kidnapped predicted increased symptoms (ss = 2.11, 95% CI 0.58-3.65), and lack of shelter (ss = -2.51, 95% CI -4.44 to -0.58) and domestic violence predicted lower wellbeing (ss = -1.36, 95% CI -2.67 to -0.05). Conclusion: many participants adapt to adversity, but contextual factors play a critical role in determining mental health trajectories. / Antecedentes: estudios longitudinales que examinan las trayectorias de la salud mental en losrefugiados y solicitantes de asilo son escasos. Objetivos: investigar las trayectorias de los síntomas psi, European Union (EU); Horizon 2020; European Commission (EC); RE-DEFINE: Refugee Emergency DEFining and Implementing Novel Evidence-based psycho-social Interventions

Background: Longitudinal studies examining mental health trajectories in refugees and asylum seekers are scarce. Objectives: To investigate trajectories of psychological symptoms and wellbeing in refugees and asylum seekers, and identify factors associated with these trajectories. Method: 912 asylum seekers and refugees from the control arm of three trials in Europe (n = 229), Turkey (n = 320), and Uganda (n = 363) were included. We described trajectories of psychological symptoms and wellbeing, and used trauma exposure, age, marital status, education, and individual trial as predictors. Then, we assessed the bidirectional interactions between wellbeing and psychological symptoms, and the effect of each predictor on each outcome controlling for baseline values. Results: Symptom improvement was identified in all trials, and for wellbeing in 64.7% of participants in Europe and Turkey, versus 31.5% in Uganda. In Europe and Turkey domestic violence predicted increased symptoms at post-intervention (ss = 1.36, 95% CI 0.17-2.56), whilst murder of family members at 6-month follow-up (ss = 1.23, 95% CI 0.27-2.19). Lower wellbeing was predicted by murder of family member (ss = -1.69, 95% CI -3.06 to -0.32), having been kidnapped (ss = -1.67, 95% CI -3.19 to -0.15), close to death (ss = -1.38, 95% CI -2.70 to -0.06), and being in the host country >= 2 years (ss = -1.60, 95% CI -3.05 to -0.14). In Uganda at post-intervention, having been kidnapped predicted increased symptoms (ss = 2.11, 95% CI 0.58-3.65), and lack of shelter (ss = -2.51, 95% CI -4.44 to -0.58) and domestic violence predicted lower wellbeing (ss = -1.36, 95% CI -2.67 to -0.05). Conclusion: Many participants adapt to adversity, but contextual factors play a critical role in determining mental health trajectories.

We explore multi-sectoral integration as a model for scaling up evidence-based mental health and psychosocial support interventions in humanitarian settings. We introduce Self Help Plus 360, designed to support humanitarian partners across different sectors to integrate a psychosocial intervention into their programming and more holistically address population needs.

Background: Innovative solutions are required to provide mental health support at scale in low-resource humanitarian contexts. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of a facilitator-guided, group-based, self-help intervention (Self-Help Plus) to reduce psychological distress in female refugees. Methods: We did a cluster randomised trial in rural refugee settlements in northern Uganda. Participants were female South Sudanese refugees with at least moderate levels of psychological distress (cutoff ≥5 on the Kessler 6). The intervention comprised access to usual care and five 2-h audio-recorded stress-management workshops (20–30 refugees) led by briefly trained lay facilitators, accompanied by an illustrated self-help book. Villages were randomly assigned to either intervention (Self-Help Plus or enhanced usual care) on a 1:1 basis. Within 14 villages, randomly selected households were approached. Screening of women in households continued until 20–30 eligible participants were identified per site. The primary outcome was individual psychological distress, assessed using the Kessler 6 symptom checklist 1 week before, 1 week after, and 3 months after intervention, in the intention-to-treat population. All outcomes were measured at the individual (rather than cluster) level. Secondary outcomes included personally identified problems, post-traumatic stress, depression symptoms, feelings of anger, social interactions with other ethnic groups, functional impairment, and subjective wellbeing. Assessors were masked to allocation. This trial was prospectively registered at ISRCTN, number 50148022. Findings: Of 694 eligible participants (331 Self-Help Plus, 363 enhanced usual care), 613 (88%) completed all assessments. Compared with controls, we found stronger improvements for Self-Help Plus on psychological distress 3 months post intervention (β −1·20, 95% CI −2·33 to −0·08; p=0·04; d −0·26). We also found larger improvements for Self-Help Plus 3 months post-intervention for

Major knowledge gaps remain concerning the most effective ways to address mental health and psychosocial needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises. The Research for Health in Humanitarian Crisis (R2HC) program aims to strengthen humanitarian health practice and policy through research. As a significant portion of R2HC's research has focused on mental health and psychosocial support interventions, the program has been interested in strengthening a community of practice in this field. Following a meeting between grantees, we set out to provide an overview of the R2HC portfolio, and draw lessons learned. In this paper, we discuss the mental health and psychosocial support-focused research projects funded by R2HC; review the implications of initial findings from this research portfolio; and highlight four remaining knowledge gaps in this field. Between 2014 and 2019, R2HC funded 18 academic-practitioner partnerships focused on mental health and psychosocial support, comprising 38% of the overall portfolio (18 of 48 projects) at a value of approximately 7.2 million GBP. All projects have focused on evaluating the impact of interventions. In line with consensus-based recommendations to consider a wide range of mental health and psychosocial needs in humanitarian settings, research projects have evaluated diverse interventions. Findings so far have both challenged and confirmed widely-held assumptions about the effectiveness of mental health and psychosocial interventions in humanitarian settings. They point to the importance of building effective, sustained, and diverse partnerships between scholars, humanitarian practitioners, and funders, to ensure long-term program improvements and appropriate evidence-informed decision making. Further research needs to fill knowledge gaps regarding how to: scale-up interventions that have been found to be effective (e.g., questions related to integration across sectors, adaptation of interventions across different contex