Table 3 Research strategies for engagement and partnership

Local ownership: Developing a strong sense of local ownership, through engagement with communities, before implementing the randomized controlled trial; relying on local partners to recruit and track participants; triangulating data on refugee populations.

Engaging youth: Energizing young people with respect to cutting-edge science, and offering professional haircuts to facilitate hair cortisol sample collection; developing and validating an Arabic-language scale to measure resilience, in response to young people’s requests; eliminating the most demanding aspects of the study at T3, such as tests of cognitive function.

Sharing findings: Local and international research partners shared results and dialogue within humanitarian and academic networks - internationally, regionally, and locally.