Effectiveness of Trauma-Informed Peace Education for Mental Health in Somali Refugees

Violent social conflict provokes complex humanitarian emergencies including refugee situation. High prevalence of common mental disorders is common among refugees and yet mental health care and psychosocial support for them is meager during migration process. In fact, a majority of refugees are displaced in low-resource countries where mental health is often deprioritized and neglected. Moreover, ongoing ethnic/political conflicts transmitted from the home county tend to deteriorate social capital of the refugee community and exacerbate aftermaths of trauma.  The current study was developed to address such gaps in mental health and psychosocial support for Somali refugees in Nairobi, Kenya, by developing a culturally and contextually relevant intervention model that is grounded to the refugee community in a low-resource setting. The intervention, called Trauma-Informed Peace Education (TIPE), was based on psychoeducation focusing on impact of trauma, mental health symptoms and coping, combined with peace education involving basic conflict resolution and life skills. Total 250 young Somali refugees participated in the intervention and showed two sets of positive outcomes: 1) mental health symptom reduction in PTSD, Depression, and Somatic pains among individuals with moderate to severe symptoms at baseline; and 2) enhancement of sense of community, perceived social support, and competency in stress coping among participants with mild mental health symptoms. This research corroborates abundant needs for psychosocial and mental health support for urban refugees in low resource settings, while indicating the importance of culturally/contextually relevant intervention model that addresses complex needs of the community for mental health and peace-building.