Brief materials and programmes for children and families who have experienced conflict and displacement

Abstract

Abstract This presentation will provide an overview of a set of materials and programmes designed for families who are living through or have escaped conflict and displacement. Delivery formats include i) brief leaflets giving parenting advice for caregivers; ii) a more extensive booklet and format for a Conversation Group, and iii) a programme designed to address post-traumatic stress in children, Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT), to which a caregiver and parenting skills module was added, to form TRT+Parenting. Each intervention has been tested or trialled with families living in challenged contexts. The leaflet was distributed to 3000 families via bakeries in conflict zones in Syria. The Conversation Group was trialled for feasibility in Palestine. TRT+Parenting was piloted with Syrian families living on the Turkey-Syria border, and then trialled with 120 families in Lebanon, with teachers and social care workers trained as facilitators. In Syria, 59.5% of 3000 parents returned questionnaires and reported satisfaction with the leaflet despite the study being conducted in a conflict zone and in the context of humanitarian intervention. The Conversation Group proved feasible and acceptable, and caregivers in Palestine gave positive feedback. Children and caregivers showed significant improvements across measures of trauma and mental health, with higher levels of improvement seen in the TRT+Parenting group compared to TRT alone or waitlist. Caregivers who took part in the Plus Parenting component also reported improvement in their own mental health. The results demonstrated valuable improvements across all interventions, and indicate that brief programs can and should be widely used as components of preventive strategies.