High levels of gender-based violence (GBV) persist among conflict-affected populations and within humanitarian settings and are paralleled by under-reporting and low service utilization. Novel and evidence-bas...
Authors: Andrea L Wirtz, Nancy Glass, Kiemanh Pham, Amsale Aberra, Leonard S Rubenstein, Sonal Singh and Alexander Vu
Given the challenges to ensuring facility-based care in conflict settings, the Women’s Refugee Commission and partners have been pursuing a community-based approach to providing medical care to survivors of se...
Authors: Mihoko Tanabe, Keely Robinson, Catherine I Lee, Jen A Leigh, Eh May Htoo, Naw Integer and Sandra K Krause
Civil wars are characterized by intense forms of violence, such as torture, maiming and rape. Political scientists suggest that this form of political violence is fostered through the provision of particular i...
Authors: Roos Haer, Lilli Banholzer, Thomas Elbert and Roland Weierstall
The proliferation of nuclear technology in the politically volatile Middle East greatly increases the likelihood of a catastrophic nuclear war. It is widely accepted, while not openly declared, that Israel has...
Authors: Cham E Dallas, William C Bell, David J Stewart, Antonio Caruso and Frederick M Burkle Jr
Former combatants have frequently reported that aggressive behaviour can be appetitive and appealing. This appetitive aggression (AA) may be adaptive for survival in a violent environment, as it is associated ...
Authors: Roland Weierstall, Claudia Patricia Bueno Castellanos, Frank Neuner and Thomas Elbert
A low-intensity armed conflict has been occurring for nearly a decade in southernmost region of Thailand. However, its impact on child health has not yet been investigated. This study aimed to estimate the pre...
Authors: Rohani Jeharsae, Rassamee Sangthong, Wit Wichaidit and Virasakdi Chongsuvivatwong
Due to the armed conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s many families escaped to other countries. The main goal of this study was to explore in more detail the complexity of various family members’ experiences ...
Authors: Gunilla Jarkman Björn, Per A Gustafsson, Gunilla Sydsjö and Carina Berterö
The 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda left about one million people dead in a period of only three months. The present study aimed to examine the level of trauma exposure, psychopathology, and risk factors ...
Nepal is one of the post-conflict countries affected by violence from explosive devices. We undertook this study to assess the magnitude of injuries due to intentional explosions in Nepal during 2008-2011 and ...
Authors: Oleg O Bilukha, Kristin Becknell, Hugues Laurenge, Luhar Danee and Krishna P Subedi
Following decades of conflict, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. Prolonged conflict, which included gender-based violence (GBV), exacerbated gender disparities. This study aimed to assess att...
Authors: Jennifer Scott, Sarah Averbach, Anna Merport Modest, Michele R Hacker, Sarah Cornish, Danielle Spencer, Maureen Murphy and Parveen Parmar
Concepts of ‘what constitutes mental illness’, the presumed aetiology and preferred treatment options, vary considerably from one cultural context to another. Knowledge and understanding of these local concept...
Authors: Peter Ventevogel, Mark Jordans, Ria Reis and Joop de Jong
Recent initiatives by international health and humanitarian aid organizations have focused increased attention on making HIV testing services more widely available to vulnerable populations. To realize potenti...
Authors: Kelli N O’Laughlin, Shada A Rouhani, Zikama M Faustin and Norma C Ware
Following a rapid influx of over 200,000 displaced Somalis into the Dadaab refugee camp complex in Kenya, Médecins Sans Frontières conducted a mortality and nutrition survey of the population living in Bulo Ba...
Authors: Jonathan A Polonsky, Axelle Ronsse, Iza Ciglenecki, Monica Rull and Klaudia Porten
Exposure to violence in general and to armed conflict in particular has been consistently associated with an increased prevalence of mental illness. Colombia has sustained an internal armed conflict for decade...
Authors: Alicia Londoño, Perla Romero and Germán Casas
Prospective surveillance is a recognised approach for measuring death rates in humanitarian emergencies. However, there is limited evidence on how such surveillance should optimally be implemented and on how d...
Authors: Sarah Bowden, Kai Braker, Francesco Checchi and Sidney Wong
Despite the fact that the Colombian armed conflict has continued for almost five decades there is still very little information on how it affects the mental health of civilians. Although it is well established...
Authors: Vaughan Bell, Fernanda Méndez, Carmen Martínez, Pedro Pablo Palma and Marc Bosch
Optimal adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is required to promote viral suppression and to prevent disease progression and mortality. Forcibly displaced and conflict-affected populations...
Authors: Joshua B Mendelsohn, Marian Schilperoord, Paul Spiegel and David A Ross
There is growing recognition of the psychological impact of adversity associated with armed conflict on exposed civilian populations. Yet there is a paucity of evidence on the value of mental health programs i...
Authors: Augusto E Llosa, Germán Casas, Hélène Thomas, Angels Mairal, Rebecca F Grais and Marie-Rose Moro
Globally, alcohol use contributes to close to 4% of all deaths and is a leading cause of ill health and premature death among men of reproductive age. Problem alcohol use is an unaddressed public health issue ...
Authors: Nadine Ezard, Supan Thiptharakun, François Nosten, Tim Rhodes and Rose McGready
Many survivors of gender based violence (GBV) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) report barriers to access health services including, distance, cost, lack of trained providers and fear of stigma. In 200...
Authors: Anjalee Kohli, Maphie Tosha Makambo, Paul Ramazani, Isaya Zahiga, Biki Mbika, Octave Safari, Richard Bachunguye, Janvier Mirindi and Nancy Glass
Published literature on surgical care in refugees tends to focus on the acute (‘emergent’) phase of crisis situations. Here we posit that there is a substantial burden of non-acute morbidity amenable to surgic...
Authors: Chathika K Weerasuriya, Saw Oo Tan, Lykourgos Christos Alexakis, Aung Kaung Set, Marcus J Rijken, Paul Martyn, François Nosten and Rose McGready
The management of chronic debilitating health conditions after trauma remains a challenge in post-conflict settings. The study aimed to expand current understanding of the diagnostic overlap of pain and PTSD a...
An increased prevalence of birth defects was allegedly reported in Iraq in the post 1991 Gulf War period, which was largely attributed to exposure to depleted uranium used in the war. This has encouraged furth...
Authors: Tariq S Al-Hadithi, Jawad K Al-Diwan, Abubakir M Saleh and Nazar P Shabila
Neonatal deaths account for over 40% of all deaths in children younger than five years of age and neonatal mortality rates are highest in areas affected by humanitarian emergencies. Of the ten countries with t...
Authors: Jennifer O Lam, Ribka Amsalu, Kate Kerber, Joy E Lawn, Basia Tomczyk, Nadine Cornier, Alma Adler, Anne Golaz and William J Moss
Little is known about how positive phenomena can support resettlement of refugees in a new country. The aim of this study was to examine the hopeful thinking in a group of West African quota refugees at arriva...
Authors: Tanvir M Anjum, Cecilia Nordqvist and Toomas Timpka
The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the deadliest since World War II. Over a decade of fighting amongst an array of armed groups has resulted in extensive human rights abuses, par...
Authors: J T Kelly, T S Betancourt, D Mukwege, R Lipton and M J VanRooyen
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refugee camps are located predominantly in rural areas of Africa and Asia in protracted or post-emergency contexts. Recognizing the importance of malaria, ...
Authors: Christine L Hershey, Shannon Doocy, Jamie Anderson, Christopher Haskew, Paul Spiegel and William J Moss
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched a health information system (HIS) in 2005 to enhance quality and consistency of routine health information available in post-emergency refugee...
Authors: Shannon Doocy, Hannah Tappis, Christopher Haskew, Caroline Wilkinson and Paul Spiegel
Much of the literature on the relationship between conflict-related trauma and high risk sexual behaviour (HRSB) often focuses on refugees and not mass in-country displaced people due to armed conflicts. There...
Authors: Wilson Winstons Muhwezi, Eugene Kinyanda, Margaret Mungherera, Patrick Onyango, Emmanuel Ngabirano, Julius Muron, Johnson Kagugube and Rehema Kajungu
The health needs of children and adolescents in humanitarian emergencies are critical to the success of relief efforts and reduction in mortality. Measles has been one of the major causes of child deaths in hu...
Authors: Rebecca F Grais, Peter Strebel, Peter Mala, John Watson, Robin Nandy and Michelle Gayer
Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing are key concerns in displaced populations. Despite urban refugees constituting more than half of the world's refugees, minimal attention has been paid to their psychoso...
Authors: Fiona C Thomas, Bayard Roberts, Nagendra P Luitel, Nawaraj Upadhaya and Wietse A Tol
Comparisons between refugees receiving health care in settlement-based facilities and persons living in host communities have found that refugees have better health outcomes. However, data that compares utiliz...
Authors: William M Weiss, Alexander Vu, Hannah Tappis, Sarah Meyer, Christopher Haskew and Paul Spiegel
Northern Uganda experienced severe civil conflict for over 20 years and is also a region of high HIV prevalence. This study examined knowledge of, access to, and factors associated with use of family planning ...
Authors: Barbara Nattabi, Jianghong Li, Sandra C Thompson, Christopher G Orach and Jaya Earnest
Almost two-thirds of refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and other persons affected by humanitarian emergencies live in malaria endemic regions. Malaria remains a significant threat to the health...
Authors: Jamie Anderson, Shannon Doocy, Christopher Haskew, Paul Spiegel and William J Moss
Syphilis, a known major public health issue for soldiers during periods of conflict, is exacerbated in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to widespread sexual violence. However, there has been no previous st...
Authors: Raphael Kabangwa Senga and Prosper Mukobelwa Lutala
Recent reports have drawn attention to increases in congenital birth anomalies and cancer in Fallujah Iraq blamed on teratogenic, genetic and genomic stress thought to result from depleted Uranium contaminatio...
Authors: Samira Alaani, Muhammed Tafash, Christopher Busby, Malak Hamdan and Eleonore Blaurock-Busch
Fragile states are home to a sixth of the world's population, and their populations are particularly vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks. Timely surveillance and control are essential to minimise the im...
Somalia is one of the most political unstable countries in the world. Ongoing insecurity has forced an inconsistent medical response by the international community, with little data collection. This paper desc...
Authors: Kathryn M Chu, Nathan P Ford and Miguel Trelles
Despite the serious consequences of conflict for reproductive health, populations affected by conflict and its aftermath face tremendous barriers to accessing reproductive health services, due to insecurity, i...
Authors: Therese McGinn, Judy Austin, Katherine Anfinson, Ribka Amsalu, Sara E Casey, Shihab Ibrahim Fadulalmula, Anne Langston, Louise Lee-Jones, Janet Meyers, Frederick Kintu Mubiru, Jennifer Schlecht, Melissa Sharer and Mary Yetter
Both conflict and HIV affect sub-Saharan Africa, and supportive approaches for HIV prevention among refugees are crucial. Peer education has been associated with improved HIV outcomes, though relatively little...
Authors: Aniek Woodward, Natasha Howard, Yaya Souare, Sarah Kollie, Anna von Roenne and Matthias Borchert
This study aims to assess the situation of communicable diseases under national surveillance in the Cyclone Nargis-affected areas in Myanmar (Burma) before and after the incident.
Authors: Nyan Win Myint, Jaranit Kaewkungwal, Pratap Singhasivanon, Kamron Chaisiri, Pornpet Panjapiyakul, Pichit Siriwan, Arun K Mallik, Soe Lwin Nyein and Thet Thet Mu
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, is a fatal neglected tropical disease if left untreated. HAT primarily affects people living in rural sub-Saharan Africa, often in regions afflicted b...
Authors: Jacqueline Tong, Olaf Valverde, Claude Mahoudeau, Oliver Yun and François Chappuis
In recent years, vigorous debate has developed concerning how conflicts contribute to the spread of infectious diseases, and in particular, the role of post-conflict situations in the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS....
Authors: Bruce H Noden, R John C Pearson and Aurelio Gomes
Addressing increasing concerns about public health equity in the context of violent conflict and the consequent forced displacement of populations is complex. Important operational questions now faced by human...
Authors: Jennifer Leaning, Paul Spiegel and Jeff Crisp
Maternal mortality can be particularly high in conflict and chronic emergency settings, partly due to inaccessible maternal care. This paper examines associations of refugee-led health education, formal educat...
Authors: Natasha Howard, Aniek Woodward, Yaya Souare, Sarah Kollie, David Blankhart, Anna von Roenne and Matthias Borchert
Measuring human rights violations is particularly challenging during or after armed conflict. A recent nationwide survey in the Central African Republic produced estimates of rates of grave violations against ...
Authors: Alina Potts, Kathleen Myer and Les Roberts
For more than forty years, episodes of violence in the Mindanao conflict have recurrently led to civilian displacement. In 2008, Medecins Sans Frontieres set up a mental health program integrated into primary ...
Authors: Yolanda Mueller, Susanna Cristofani, Carmen Rodriguez, Rohani T Malaguiok, Tatiana Gil, Rebecca F Grais and Renato Souza
Since 1998, the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has been torn by a military conflict. A particular atrocity of the war is widespread sexual violence.
Substance use among populations displaced by conflict is a neglected area of public health. Alcohol, khat, benzodiazepine, opiate, and other substance use have been documented among a range of displaced popula...
Authors: Nadine Ezard, Edna Oppenheimer, Ann Burton, Marian Schilperoord, David Macdonald, Moruf Adelekan, Abandokoth Sakarati and Mark van Ommeren
