Panter‐Brick 2018.
| Study characteristics | |
| Methods |
Study design: RCT Duration of study: the study was conducted in 2015‐2016. Country: Jordan Income classification: upper‐middle‐income country in 2015, lower‐middle income country in 2016 Geographical scope: urban, “youth residing in Jordanian urban centers into five cycles of program delivery” Healthcare setting: youth centres, designed as ‘Adolescent Friendly Spaces’ in partnership with local community‐based organizations engaged in building civic society or development training, open 9 am to 9 pm. In northern Jordan, the programme was implemented in the urban centers of Irbid, Jarash, Mafraq, Ajloun, and Zarqa governorates. |
| Participants | 1. Age: 12 to 18 years 2. Gender: both 3. Socioeconomic background Across cycle 1 (quasi‐experimental design) and cycle 2 (RCT): household wealth index of mean 7.88 (SD: 2.88) at T2 and 7.67 (2.99) at T3; Syrian refugees were poorer. 4. Educational background Across cycle 1 (quasi‐experimental design) and cycle 2 (RCT): education grade (0‐12) mean 7.04 (SD: 2.15) at T2 and 6.98 (2.16) at T3. Inclusion criteria: “Eligibility is based on vulnerability and need, determined by Mercy Corps staff during screening interviews to assess age, self‐reported mental health difficulties and poor access to local services. Siblings are included when families prefer brothers and sisters to travel and participate together.” Exclusion criteria: a. not being a refugee; b. not having self‐reported mental health difficulties and poor access to local services. Note: at baseline, the intervention and control group scores for Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) were, respectively, 14.99 (6.29) and 14.85 (5.90). Stated purpose: to test the impacts of an 8‐week programme of structured activities informed by a profound stress attunement (PSA) framework (Advancing Adolescents), delivered in group format to 12‐ to 18‐year‐olds in communities heavily affected by the Syrian crisis |
| Interventions |
Name: Advancing Adolescents Title/name of PW and number: coaches (number not specified) 1. Selection: male and female coaches are lay volunteers (21‐ to 60‐year‐olds) from the local area. 2. Educational background: not specified 3. Training: “they complete a 16‐day training in program delivery, to work as instructors, facilitators, mentors, and animators. The Coaches Foundation Training Programme focuses on emotional and behavioural regulation (‘Hearts and Heads’) and experiential learning (‘Creative Facilitation’). The manual incorporates the following components: practising healthy communication; defining profound stress, its impact on the human brain, and principles of attainment; developing gender equity and adolescent protection; building psychosocial resilience; and enhancing skills of creative facilitation for effective technical training. The coaches develop technical training ‘session plans’ to lead structured activities, with guidance from Mercy Corps.” This was conducted by the Mercy Corps monitoring and evaluation team. 4. Supervision: “A lay coordinator monitors and supports the project plans during their development and implementation. Weekly meetings are scheduled to review progress, share experiences and address issues arising. Refresher training courses are offered to lay coaches before each new cycle of implementation.” 5. Incentives/remuneration: not specified Prevention type: selective—participants were included based upon the presence of a risk factor. Quote: “Eligibility is based on vulnerability and need, determined by Mercy Corps staff during screening interviews to assess age, self‐reported mental health difficulties and poor access to local services. Siblings are included when families prefer brothers and sisters to travel and participate together.” Participants presented with some level of distress as indicated by SDQ scores that were below the cut‐off for the measure. Intervention details: the Advancing Adolescents (Arabic: Nubader) programme is a structured, 8‐week psychosocial intervention for adolescents in humanitarian crises, based on profound stress attainment processes. It features three elements that are widely viewed as important to support youth adjustment in contexts of complex emergencies: (a) safety – establishment of a ‘safe space’ within the community as a base for activities and site of protection; (b) support – facilitation of social support and self‐expression; and (c) structured, group‐based activities. Control: waiting list |
| Outcomes |
Participants’outcomes of interest for this review
Carers’ outcomes of interest for this review Nil Economic outcomes Nil Time points: not available Note: data were not included in the meta‐analysis because they were not provided in the right format or were not available even after attempted author contact. |
| Notes |
Source of funding: this research was funded by Elrha’s Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme. The R2HC programme is funded equally by the Wellcome Trust and the UK Government. Notes on validation of instruments (screening and outcomes): “we used regionally/internationally validated scales, chosen on the basis of their simplicity, cultural relevance, psychometric properties and usage in conflict areas.” Additional information: none Handling the data: not applicable Prospective trial registration number: NCT03012451 |