Psychosocial intervention for war-affected children in Sierra Leone

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are no psychosocial interventions to address both educational needs and psychological distress among displaced children in post-conflict settings. AIMS: To assess the psychosocial status of displaced children enrolled in the Rapid-Ed intervention; and to determine whether the Rapid-Ed intervention alleviated traumatic stress symptoms that interfere with learning among war-affected children in Sierra Leone. METHOD: A randomly selected sample of 315 children aged 8-18 years who were displaced by war were interviewed about their war experiences and reactions to the violence before and after participating in the 4-week Rapid-Ed intervention combining basic education with trauma healing activities. RESULTS: High levels of intrusion, arousal and avoidance symptoms were reported at the pre-test interviews conducted 9-12 months after the war. Post-test findings showed statistically significant decreases in intrusion and arousal symptoms (P<0.0001), a slight increase in avoidance reactions (P<0.0001) and greater optimism about the future. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest potential for combining basic education with trauma healing activities for children in post-conflict settings, but confirmatory studies using a control group are needed. Conducting research in post-conflict settings presents unique challenges.