Journal article
Is Refugee Health Equity Possible in the Context of Structural Oppression and Protracted Displacement?
Health education & behavior, Vol.52(5), pp.511-526
10/2025
DOI: 10.1177/10901981251358702
PMID: 41054294
Abstract
Mental health promotion interventions have some evidence of improving well-being outcomes among children in humanitarian settings. Yet, are they sufficient to ensure health equity, particularly in contexts of structural oppression and protracted displacement? We describe
(We Are Capable), a year-long social skills building intervention for mental health promotion among Palestinian refugee children, which was implemented in 2008-2009 in Burj El Barajneh Camp (BBC) in Beirut, Lebanon.
consisted of 45 sessions for children, 15 for parents, and six workshops for teachers, all developed through a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach involving an academic institution and a Community Youth Coalition. Session implementation was supported by youth mentors from BBC. The effectiveness of the intervention on mental health outcomes of the children was measured through a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design. Post-intervention quantitative results indicated statistically insignificant difference in the mental health scale scores between intervention and comparison groups. Meanwhile, qualitative interviews with children post-intervention indicated unanimous positive experiences of their engagement, with intermediate mechanisms consistent with the intervention's logic model. These discrepant findings warrant serious reflection on the premise underlying mental health interventions within the context of prevailing structural oppression and protracted displacement. Our article describes the intervention, its CBPR approach, potential explanations for the contrasting results, and raises critical questions about the conditions necessary for health equity among refugee populations, which continue to be relevant today. To achieve health equity, public health research and practice must move upstream to promote social justice and dismantle structural oppression.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Is Refugee Health Equity Possible in the Context of Structural Oppression and Protracted Displacement?
- Creators
- Rima A Afifi - University of IowaRima T Nakkash - George Mason UniversitySuad Hammad - Independent Consultant, Beirut, LebanonTaghreed El Hajj - Liverpool School of Tropical MedicineJihad Makhoul - American University of BeirutSawsan Abdulrahim - American University of BeirutZiyad R Mahfoud - Weill Cornell Medical College in QatarMayada Kanj - American University of Beirut
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Health education & behavior, Vol.52(5), pp.511-526
- DOI
- 10.1177/10901981251358702
- PMID
- 41054294
- NLM abbreviation
- Health Educ Behav
- ISSN
- 1090-1981
- eISSN
- 1552-6127
- Publisher
- Sage
- Grant note
- Wellcome Trust
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The project described in this paper was funded by a grant from the Wellcome Trust.
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/2025
- Academic Unit
- Injury Prevention Research Center; Community and Behavioral Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984969236702771
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