Peer-reviewed article
Protocol for a caregiver psychosocial support intervention for populations affected by displacement in Uganda
Flora Cohen, Sabrina Hermosilla, Justin Knox, Gary Samuel Agaba, Grace Obalim et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study protocol describes a trial of the Journey of Life intervention, a psychosocial support programme for caregivers in a refugee settlement in Uganda. The research will test whether improving caregiver mental health leads to better child wellbeing and safer caregiving practices. A waitlist-control design will compare 600 caregivers receiving the intervention with 600 in a control group, measuring mental distress, functioning, social support, and caregiving behaviours. The study aims to generate evidence for whether such programmes can be scaled up in humanitarian settings.
Key points
- Poor caregiver mental health is linked to child psychological distress in refugee settings
- The intervention targets caregiver mental distress as the primary outcome, measured using the Kessler-6
- Secondary outcomes include caregiver functioning, social support, and caregiving behaviours
- The study uses a quasi-experimental waitlist-control design with 1,200 participants in Kiryandongo refugee settlement
- Implementation will be examined qualitatively to assess feasibility, adaptations, and reach
Limitations
This is a protocol document describing a study that is underway; it does not report any findings or results. We cannot know the actual effectiveness of the intervention, its impact on child wellbeing, or implementation outcomes until the trial is complete and analysed.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Child psychological distress in refugee settings is a significant public health concern, which is exacerbated by poor caregiver mental health and functioning. However, there are limited studies about effective interventions to improve caregiver mental health in support of child wellbeing. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of the Journey of Life (JoL) intervention to improve caregiver mental health in a refugee camp in Western Uganda. METHODS: A waitlist-control quasi-experimental design is being implemented in the Kiryandongo refugee settlement (intervention n = 600, control n = 600). Caregiver mental distress, measured using the Kessler-6, was selected as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include (a) functioning measured by the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, (b) social support measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, and (c) caregiving behaviors according to the Parental Acceptance and Rejection Questionnaire and the Child Protection Index. The study aims to examine the implementation of the JoL intervention through qualitative assessments of intervention feasibility, adaptations, and reach. DISCUSSION: This trial will add much-needed evidence for the implementation of caregiver psychosocial programming within the humanitarian community. Findings will be disseminated amongst local, regional, and global actors in order to guide potential scale up within humanitarian settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT04817098 (Registered: 3/24/21).
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Journey of Life (JoL), a caregiver psychosocial support intervention
- Population
- Caregivers in the Kiryandongo refugee settlement in Western Uganda (n=1,200; 600 intervention, 600 control)
Key finding
Study is registered (NCT04817098) and ongoing; no results yet reported
Cohen et al. · Prof. Lindsay Stark (OpenAlex works) · 17 May 2021