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Title A Public Health Approach to Address the Mental Health Burden of Youth in Situations of Political Violence and Humanitarian Emergencies
Full text http://hdl.handle.net/11245/1.514440
Date 2015
Author(s) J.T.V.M. de Jong; L.H. Berckmoes; B.A. Kohrt; S.J. Song; W.A. Tol; R. Reis
Abstract This paper describes how socio-ecological theory and a syndemic health systems and public health approach may help address the plight of youth in situations of political violence and humanitarian emergencies. We describe the treatment gap caused by discrepancies in epidemiological prevalence rates, individual and family needs, and available human and material resources. We propose four strategies to develop a participatory public health approach for these youth, based on principles of equity, feasibility, and a balance between prevention and treatment. The first strategy uses ecological and transgenerational resilience as a theoretical framework to facilitate a systems approach to the plight of youth and families. This theoretical base helps to engage health care professionals in a multisectoral analysis and a collaborative public health strategy. The second strategy is to translate pre-program assessment into mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) priorities. Defining priorities helps to develop programs and policies that align with preventive and curative interventions in multiple tiers of the public health system. The third is a realistic budgetary framework as a condition for the development of sustainable institutional capacity including a monitoring system. The fourth strategy is to direct research to address the knowledge gap about effective practices for youth mental health in humanitarian settings. Keywords Public health Youth Humanitarian emergencies Resilience Mental health Syndemics
Language en
Relation 10.1007/s11920-015-0590-0
Type of publication article
Source Current psychiatry reports (15233812) vol.17 (2015) nr.7
Rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content licence (like Creative Commons).
Repository Amsterdam - UvaPub, University of Amsterdam
Added to C-A: 2016-04-05;00:23:16