Measuring the psychosocial, biological, and cognitive signatures of profound stress in humanitarian settings

Impacts, challenges, and strategies in the field

Abstract

Evidence of ‘what works’ in humanitarian programming is important for addressing the disruptive consequences of conflict and forced displacement. However, collecting robust scientific evidence, and ensuring contextual relevance, is challenging. The authors measured the biological, psychosocial, and cognitive impacts of a structured psychosocial intervention, implemented by Mercy Corps with Syrian refugees and Jordanian host-community youth. In this paper, they present a case analysis of this evaluation study and reflect on the scientific contributions of the work, the challenges experienced in its delivery, and the strategies deployed to address them.

This research was supported by the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme

Citation

Panter-Brick, C., Eggerman, M., Ager, A. et al. Measuring the psychosocial, biological, and cognitive signatures of profound stress in humanitarian settings: impacts, challenges, and strategies in the field. Confl Health 14, 40 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-020-00286-w

Measuring the psychosocial, biological, and cognitive signatures of profound stress in humanitarian settings: impacts, challenges, and strategies in the field

Updates to this page

Published 23 June 2020