Appraising Evidence-Based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Guidelines-PART I: A Systematic Review on Methodological Quality Using AGREE-HS.

Hans Te Brake,Michel Dückers,Andrea Willems,Charlie Steen

doi:10.3390/ijerph19053107

Abstract

In 2007, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) published its guidelines for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in emergency situations. This was one of the first sets of MHPSS guidelines, developed during the last decades, to aid policymakers and practitioners in the planning and implementation of disaster mental health risk reduction activities. However, the potential merit of MHPSS guidelines for this purpose is poorly understood. The objective of this study is to review available MHPSS guidelines in disaster settings and assess their methodological quality. MHPSS guidelines, frameworks, manuals and toolkits were selected via a systematic literature review as well as a search in the grey literature. A total of 13 MHPSS guidelines were assessed independently by 3–5 raters using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation–Health Systems (AGREE-HS) instrument. Guideline quality scores varied substantially, ranging between 21.3 and 67.6 (range 0–100, M = 45.4), with four guidelines scoring above midpoint (50). Overall, guidelines scored highest (on a 1–7 scale) on topic (M = 5.3) and recommendations (M = 4.2), while implementability (M = 2.7) is arguably the area where most of the progress is to be made. Ideally, knowledge derived from scientific research aligns with the receptive contexts of policy and practice where risks are identified and mitigated.

Highlights

In order to deal with this threat adequately, it is crucial that two areas of expertise are combined and integrated: disaster risk reduction (DRR) and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS)
This study aimed to provide insight into the currently available MHPSS guidelines and their methodological quality in order to determine whether such guidelines can aid policymakers and practitioners in the planning and implementation of disaster mental health risk reduction (DMHRR) activities
We examined the methodological quality of 13 internationally developed MHPSS guidelines using AGREE-HS

Summary

Introduction

Societies in all areas of the world are confronted by a variety of global and local, natural and human-induced hazards and actual disasters [1–3]. These events and circumstances entail a serious threat to the mental health and well-being of populations [4–8]. In order to deal with this threat adequately, it is crucial that two areas of expertise are combined and integrated: disaster risk reduction (DRR) and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). Merging Disaster Risk Reduction and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support. To anticipate disaster exposure risks adequately, governments and partners on a local, national or international level are challenged to pursue an effective DRR strategy integrating the best available knowledge on MHPSS. DRR is positioned as “the policy objective of disaster risk management, and its goals and objectives are defined in disaster risk reduction strategies and plans” [9]

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Conclusion