Mental health research needed for humanitarian crises
By Liz Lockhart
To date there has been much research on topics such as the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in regions experiencing humanitarian crises. Experts in these regions are currently asking for more research to 
be done which focuses on generating and developing practical knowledge that could have tangible benefits in humanitarian settings.
Findings of this nature are important because crises affect so many people. In 2009 more than 119million people were affected by natural disasters. There were 36 armed conflicts in 26 countries around the world and previous research has demonstrated the negative impact of humanitarian crises on mental health and psychological well-being. This included increased social problems and common mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A study led by Wietse Tol from Yale University developed a consensus-based research agenda to strengthen mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian setting. The study had input from 82 experts with expertise as policy makers, academics and practitioners who represented regions where humanitarian crises occur.
The experts agreed that there are ten priority research questions which should be in areas related to:
- Problem analysis (four questions on identifying stressors, problems and protective factors from the perspective of affected populations
- Mental health and psychosocial support interventions (three questions on sociocultural adaptation and on effectiveness of family-based and school-based prevention
- Research and information management (two questions on assessment methods and indicators for monitoring and evaluation
- Mental health and psychosocial support context (one question on whether interventions address locally perceived needs)
The authors said ‘Our research priority setting initiative, the first of its kind in this particular field, showed promising points of agreement between diverse stakeholders on research priorities for mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings.’
‘There was a strong endorsement of research that achieves tangible benefits for programming and that gives emphasis to participation with and sensitivity to the specific sociocultural context of the populations living in humanitarian settings,’ they concluded.
