The DOI matches its Crossref record; 38 of the 38 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Sexual and gender-based violence in areas of armed conflict: a systematic review of mental health and psychosocial support interventions
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Sexual and other forms of gender-based violence are common in conflict settings and are known risk factors for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. We present findings from a systematic review of the academic and grey literature focused on the effectiveness of mental health and psychosocial support interventions for populations exposed to sexual and other forms of gender-based violence in the context of armed conflicts. METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, PubMed/ Medline, psycINFO, and PILOTS, as well as grey literature to search for evaluations of interventions, without date limitations. RESULTS: Out of 5,684 returned records 189 full text papers were assessed for eligibility. Seven studies met inclusion criteria: 1 non-randomized controlled study; 3 non-controlled pre- post-test designs; 1 retrospective cohort with a matched comparison group; and 2 case studies. Studies were conducted in West and Central Africa; Albania; UK and USA, included female participants, and focused on individual and group counseling; combined psychological, medical, social and economic interventions; and cognitive behavioral therapy (two single case studies). CONCLUSIONS: The seven studies, while very limited, tentatively suggest beneficial effects of mental health and psychosocial interventions for this population, and show feasibility of evaluation and implementation of such interventions in real-life settings through partnerships with humanitarian organizations. Robust conclusions on the effectiveness of particular approaches are not possible on the basis of current evidence. More rigorous research is urgently needed.
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“Although previous studies have evaluated effective treatment strategies with conflict-affected women and girls, 5,16 there remains a paucity of knowledge on how to bring mental health supports to the required scale. 17”
From Guided self-help to reduce psychological distress in South Sudanese female refugees in Uganda: A cluster randomised trial (2020) · cites this paper as [17]
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Citations
Cites
The world report on violence and health
Krug, E. G., Mercy, J. A., Dahlberg, L. L., & Zwi, A. B. (2002) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)11133-0 · Cited by 9,110
Downs, S. H., & Black, N. (1998) · Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech.52.6.377 · Cited by 8,252
Armed Conflict 1946-2001: A New Dataset
GLEDITSCH, N. P., WALLENSTEEN, P., ERIKSSON, M., SOLLENBERG, M., & STRAND, H. (2002) · Journal of Peace Research · doi:10.1177/0022343302039005007 · Cited by 3,846 · cited 1×
“Data was obtained from the International Peace Research Institute (the Uppsala Conflict Data Program) [15-23] and the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research [24-27].”
MethodIASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings
Carll, E. K. (2008) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e518422011-002 · Cited by 681
Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: linking practice and research
Tol, W. A., Barbui, C., Galappatti, A., Silove, D., Betancourt, T. S., Souza, R., Golaz, A., & van Ommeren, M. (2011) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(11)61094-5 · Cited by 625 · cited 4×
“Despite the increasing use of MHPSS interventions and publication of consensus guidelines on good practice, a wide gap has been reported between popular practices and knowledge on effectiveness of interventions in this field [14].”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationWessells, M. (2010) · 57th Annual Meeting (October 26-31, 2010) · Cited by 544
Controlled trial of psychotherapy for Congolese survivors of sexual violence
Bass, J. K., Annan, J., McIvor Murray, S., Kaysen, D., Griffiths, S., Cetinoglu, T., Wachter, K., Murray, L. K., & Bolton, P. A. (2013) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmoa1211853 · Cited by 423
Rivas, C. A., Ramsay, J., Sadowski, L. S., Davidson, L. L., Dunne, D., Eldridge, S. M., Hegarty, K. L., Taft, A., & Feder, G. S. (2015) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd005043.pub3 · Cited by 410 · cited 1×
“In addition, we searched the reference lists of a number of relevant reviews [28-33] and the reference lists of included evaluation studies.”
MethodA Systematic Review of Prevalence Studies of Gender-Based Violence in Complex Emergencies
Stark, L., & Ager, A. (2011) · Trauma, Violence, & Abuse · doi:10.1177/1524838011404252 · Cited by 386 · cited 1×
“Despite reports of large amounts of people surviving sexual and other forms of gender-based violence in the context of armed conflicts [8], high levels of psychological distress and mental disorders in this population [9-11], and the increasing popularity of preventive and treatment strategies [7,13], very little is k…”
BackgroundStatistics Notes: Some examples of regression towards the mean
Bland, J. M., & Altman, D. G. (1994) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.309.6957.780 · Cited by 381
Research works printed but not linked: 11
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- Ward J, Marsh M: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in War and Its Aftermath: Realities, Responses, and Required Resources. 2006, Belgium: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- Inter-Agency Standing Committee [IASC]: Guidelines for Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings: Focusing on Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence in Emergencies (Field Test Version). 2005, Geneva: Inter-Agency Standing Committee
- Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research: Conflict Barometer 2006. 2006, Heidelberg, Germany: HIIK
- Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research: Conflict Barometer 2007. 2007, Heidelberg, Germany: HIIK
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- Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research: Conflict Barometer 2009. 2009, Heidelberg, Germany: HIIK
- Dehaybi S: Brief Systematic Review on the Prevalence, Factors, and Psychosocial Therapies Surrounding Global Sexual Violence. 2011, Geneva: World Health Organization
- Ager A, Ager W, Stavrou V, Boothby N: Inter-Agency Guide to the Evaluation of Psychosocial Programming in Emergencies. 2011, New York: UNICEF
- Bolton P: Assessing the Impact of the IRC Program for Survivors of Gender Based Violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - Final Report. 2009, Washington, DC: USAID; International Rescue Committee; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Plester G: Evaluation of a group counselling for traumatised women in Albani. 2007, Medica Mondiale, http://www.medicamondiale.org/fileadmin/content/07_Infothek/Trauma/Evaluation_group_counselling_Albania_english_summary.pdf .
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Tol, W. A., Leku, M. R., Lakin, D. P., Carswell, K., Augustinavicius, J., Adaku, A., Au, T. M., Brown, F. L., Bryant, R. A., Garcia-Moreno, C., et al. (2020) · The Lancet Global Health · doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(19)30504-2 · Cited by 249
“17 Against these challenges, it is clear that addressing the substantive mental health needs in humanitarian settings will require further innovation.”
BackgroundBa, I., & Bhopal, R. S. (2016) · Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2016.07.019 · Cited by 212
Lwamba, E., Shisler, S., Ridlehoover, W., Kupfer, M., Tshabalala, N., Nduku, P. M., Langer, L., Grant, S., Sonnenfeld, A., Anda, D., et al. (2022) · Campbell Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/cl2.1214 · Cited by 301
Murray, L. K., Tol, W. A., Jordans, M. J. D., Sabir, G., Amin, A. M., Bolton, P. A., Bass, J., Bonilla-Escobar, F. J., & Thornicroft, G. (2014) · Intervention · doi:10.1097/wtf.0000000000000070 · Cited by 127
Gender-based violence against adolescent girls in humanitarian settings: a review of the evidence
Stark, L., Seff, I., & Reis, C. (2020) · The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/s2352-4642(20)30245-5 · Cited by 90
Metadata
- Authors
- Tol, W. A., Stavrou, V., Greene, M. C., Mergenthaler, C., van Ommeren, M., & García Moreno, C.
- Affiliations
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Columbia University (US)
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tol, Wietse A
- Venue
- Conflict and Health
- Published
- 2013-08-05
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 16-16
- ISSN
- 1752-1505 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3750365
- OpenAlex
- W2158842686
- Cited by
- 137
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 2.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Conflict and Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- World Health Organization
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Security, and Conflict
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Conflict Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Conflict, Peace, and Violence in Colombia
- Keywords
- sexual violence, gender-based violence, armed conflict, mental health interventions, psychosocial support, post-traumatic stress, cognitive behavioral therapy, group counseling, humanitarian organizations, conflict-affected populations
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