This guide focuses on the evaluation of psychosocial programs that are aligned with two main goals: - To promote psychosocial wellbeing by promoting an environment that provides appropriate care, op
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portunities for development and protects children from exposure to situations that are harmful to their psychosocial wellbeing, and - To respond to psychosocial problems by strengthening social and psychological supports for children who have been exposed to situations that affect their psychological development.
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Report on the symposium 26–28 May 2015, New Babylon Meeting Center, The Hague
‘Psychosocial Support of Children in Emergencies’ is a reference document for humanitarian workers who want to increase their understanding of the experiences of children in emergency situations and how to support them in mitigating the negative
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effects of these experiences and how to prevent further harm. While the book is not designed to be a day-to-day programming tool, it outlines UNICEF’s orientation to the psychosocial principles integral to any work with children and provides a number of examples from field work of how these principles can be turned into concrete actions.
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A broad range of UNHCR’s key priorities overlap with MHPSS issues – for example, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] prevention and response.
Despite all these existent synergies, UNHCR’s current policies and guidelines do not sufficiently link with MHPSS principles.
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For example, the Community Services section, which is closely aligned to the principles of MHPSS and could be well-positioned to guide the implementation of related programs, has not adopted the MHPSS language or approach.
There are opportunities for UNHCR to engage more strongly and clearly in this field. However, this requires a vision for how the organisation as a whole, and particular sectors within the organisation, will engage within the field of MHPSS activities. For a start, UNHCR can work to improve its understanding and framing of mental health and psychosocial issues, and how these issues fit within its broader mandate.
While the majority of MHPSS activities are delivered by implementing partners, UNHCR staff require familiarity with core principles in the field, such as the Intervention Pyramid contained in the IASC Guidelines, in order to support and monitor quality MHPSS activities.
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War Child put forward a specific request for comparative study, addressing the following questions: •What are the key types of intervention for psychosocial assistance that are being applied to children in war-affected areas? •What are the resu
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lts of (scientific) research into the effects of the most relevant programmes? •Which NGOs operate in this sector and what is their practical experience with specific methods? •How does the War Child methodology relate to developments in the sector; what is known about the effects of War Child’s programme and how can these be measured? How will War Child work towards the development of additional evidence?
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An output of a series of workshops on psychosocial support held in 2004-2005 by the Bernard van Leer Foundation and the Coalition on Children Affected by AIDS. Authors Linda Richter, Geoff Foster and Lorraine Sherr discuss the issues surrounding
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psychosocial care and support for children made vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and make recommendations for future priorities and programming directions. Includes the ""Call To Action"" for Toronto 2006.
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The study collected data on the impact of HIV-related diseases on income, revenues, economic dependency, consumption, education, health, food security, stigma, discrimination, quality of life, and migration. The study also assessed people living wit
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h chronic diseases in order to compare the impact of living with HIV/AIDS with the impact of living with a chronic disease.
Stigma, discrimination, and socio-economic exclusion continue to affect the rights and socio-economic opportunities of people living with HIV in Myanmar. Households with a family member who has HIV, have lower incomes, fewer assets and lower home-ownership, compared to households that are not affected by HIV. They also have more household debt, and their families pay a higher rate of interest compared to families not affected by HIV.
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The purpose of this paper is to clarify relevant terminologies and approaches relating to psychosocial well-being and social and emotional learning (SEL) in education in crisis affected contexts, and to explore how
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psychosocial support (PSS) and social and emotional learning relate to one another.
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Core Knowledge for Emergency Preparedness and Response
STUDY REPORT | This study of the impact of the Nepal earthquake of 25 April, 2015, aims to understand the impact factors leading to the exclusion of older people and persons with disabilities from h
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umanitarian action, barriers to their inclusion, and the extent to which their skills and knowledge were utilised to promote inclusive humanitarian action and, using this understanding, to formulate a set of recommendations for promoting inclusion. These recommendations will be used to sensitise the broader humanitarian community to the need for inclusive disaster risk management practices in future emergency responses which pay attention to factors such as gender, age, disability and ethnicity, and build upon the capacities of older people and persons with disabilities.
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Despite growing evidence on the impact of psychosocial support interventions, there is an urgent need for a stronger evidence base on approaches that effectively support children affected by armed c
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onflict. To contribute to this evidence base, and building on a pilot study conducted in Uganda in 2009, War Child conducted an exploratory outcome evaluation of its psychosocial support intervention ‘I DEAL’ in South Sudan and Colombia in 2012. The objective of the evaluation was to explore the outcomes that I DEAL achieves for children and the factors that influence the achievement of those outcomes to further inform and strengthen the intervention
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The* Facilitator manual on community-based psychosocial support *and the* Volunteers manual on community-based psychosocial support* provides resources for trainers and participants in key aspects o
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f psychosocial support, including understanding the impact of crisis events, supportive communication, protection issues and self-care.
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Advances in the treatment of pediatric cancer have made it possible to expand initiatives beyond cure and cover aspects such as early detection, continuity of treatment and reduction in toxicity. All this has paved the way for a more comprehensive vision of patient care, which means better chances o
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f healing and a fuller life - objectives of the World Initiative against Childhood Cancer. Within this comprehensive care, psychosocial care includes the social, psychological, spiritual and functional dimensions of the disease process of patients. This series includes guidelines and standards based on evidence that guarantee the quality of said care. The standards are the result of discussion and review by different professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean. Module 1 focuses on psychosocial evaluation as a strategy to support the objectives of the World Initiative against Childhood Cancer, and as a tool for health professionals to gather the necessary information to offer these patients a comprehensive approach focused on well-being, adaptation to the disease process, and adherence to treatment.
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The health impact of radiological and nuclear emergencies can last for decades. Lessons learned from past radiological and nuclear accidents have demonstrated that the mental health and psychosocial
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consequences can outweigh the direct physical health impacts of radiation exposure. International radiation emergency preparedness and response standards outline provisions for mitigating these effects. Yet, practical guidance for addressing the mental health and psychosocial aspects of radiation emergencies remains scarce.
This framework aims to promote integration between the MHPSS and radiation protection fields. It is intended for officials and specialists involved in radiation emergency planning and risk management as well as MHPSS experts working in health emergencies.
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Results of rapid assessment
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey. The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating
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impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for increased funding.
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Broken Links: Psychosocial support for people separated from family members (Training
module) and the corresponding Broken Links field guide are designed to support staff and
volunteers in a wide range of settings where they may be in contact with
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families who have
been separated from their loved ones. The field guide and the training module outline the
causes and consequences of being separated from family members, as well as the types of
contact staff and volunteers might have with families affected by separation.
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