Table 2.

Summary of desk review methods used in four case examples

	When Determining the timeline	Where Defining the target population and context	What Defining the question and scope	Why Defining the rationale and purpose	Who Selection of the research team	How Selection of data collection and synthesis methods
Haiti (2010)	3 weeks	Persons living in Haiti affected by the earthquake	Haitian mental health and services	To inform immediate and long-term efforts to improve mental health services in post-earthquake Haiti	19 experts and student volunteers	Rapid review of academic databases to retrieve peer-reviewed and non-academic literature; Hand search of key resources
Nepal (2015)	8 weeks	Persons living in Nepal affected by the earthquake	Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in Nepal	To serve as a resource for humanitarian actors responding to the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal	98 experts and volunteers	Rapid review of academic literature, agency websites and expert recommended resources; WHO/UNHCR MHPSS Toolkit Desk Review methods and structure; “Crowd writing”
Syria (2015)	96 weeks	Persons residing within Syria and Syrian refugees affected by armed conflict	Cultural aspects of mental health and psychosocial wellbeing	To serve as a resource for MHPSS staff working with conflict-affected Syrians to assist in design and delivery of interventions	68 experts	Review of academic and non-academic literature and reports; Hand search of key resources
Tanzania (2016)	52 weeks	Adult female refugees from Eastern DRC with a history of SGBV affected by armed conflict	Mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in the context of SGBV in Congolese populations	To inform the development of a mental health and psychosocial intervention and the protocol for a randomized trial for Congolese survivors of SGBV in Nyarugusu refugee camp, Tanzania	5 researchers/study investigators and staff	Review of academic literature and agency websites; Iterative drafting and revision process among investigators

Abbreviations: DRC, Democratic Republic of the Congo; IASC, Inter-Agency Standing Committee; MHPSS, mental health and psychosocial support; SGBV, sexual and gender-based violence; UNHCR, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; WHO, World Heath Organization

Access to desk reviews: Haiti (http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/culture_mental_health_haiti_eng.pdf); Nepal (https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/system/files/20150622_nepal_earthquakes_mhpss_desk_review_150619.pdf); Syria: (http://www.unhcr.org/55f6b90f9.pdf); Tanzania (http://mhpss.net/?get=294/mental-health-and-psychosocial-wellbeing-in-congolese-refugee-survivors-of-gender-based-violence.pdf