Trial reportJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2019
Short- and longer-term impacts of Child Friendly Space Interventions in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement, Uganda.
Trial report in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Interventions to enhance psychological resilience in forcibly displaced children: a systematic review.BMJ global health · 2023Pooled it
- Child friendly spaces impact across five humanitarian settings: a meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2019Pooled it
- A scoping review of outcomes and implementation challenges of mental health care interventions among conflict-affected populations in Africa.Discover mental health · 2026Review
- 24-hour movement behaviours and health outcomes among forcibly displaced children affected by conflict or natural disasters: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A pilot study of a brief and scalable psychosocial intervention for children and adolescents following disasters.The British journal of clinical psychology · 2025Article
- Delivering therapy over telephone in a humanitarian setting: a pilot randomized controlled trial of common elements treatment approach (CETA) with Syrian refugee children in Lebanon.Conflict and health · 2024Article
- Social work post-disaster response in Iran: A case study of the 2019 mass flooding in Poldokhtar, Lorestan.International social work · 2023Article
- Empowering refugee families in transit: the development of a culturally competent and compassionate training and support package.Journal of research in nursing : JRN · 2022Article
- Advancing and translating knowledge: a systematic inquiry into the 2010-2020 mental health and psychosocial support intervention research evidence base.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2022Article
- Improving mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in humanitarian settings: reflections on research funded through R2HC.Conflict and health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe establishment of Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) has become a widespread intervention targeting protection and support for displaced children in humanitarian contexts. There is a lack of evidence of impact of these interventions with respect to both short-term outcomes and longer-term developmental trajectories.
methodsWe collected data from caregivers of Congolese refugee children residing in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement at three timepoints. To assess short-term impact of CFSs, we compared indicators assessed shortly after refugees' arrival (baseline, T1) and endline (T2, three to six months after CFS implementation) amongst 430 CFS attenders and 161 nonattenders. Follow-up assessments after the end of CFS programming were conducted 18 months post-baseline (T3) with caregivers of 249 previous CFS attenders and 77 CFS nonattenders.
resultsIn the short-term, attendance at CFSs was associated with better maintenance of psychosocial well-being (PSWB; β = 2.093, p < .001, Cohen's d = .347) and greater increases in developmental assets (β = 2.517, p < .001, Cohen's d = .231), with significantly stronger impacts for girls. CFS interventions meeting higher programing quality criteria were associated with greater impact on both PSWB and development assets (β = 2.603 vs. β = 1.793 and β = 2.942 vs. β = 2.337 for attenders at higher and lower-quality CFSs c.f. nonattenders, respectively). Amongst boys, benefits of program attendance were only indicated for those attending higher-quality CFS (β = 2.084, p = .006 for PSWB). At follow-up, however, there were no discernable impacts of prior CFS attendance on any measures. Age and school attendance were the only characteristics that predicted an outcome - developmental assets - at follow-up.
conclusionsAttendance at CFSs - particularly involving higher-quality programming - supported children's well-being and development. However, sustained impact beyond active CFS programming was not demonstrated. Intervention goals and strategies in humanitarian contexts need to address the challenge of connecting children to other resources to facilitate developmental progress in conditions of protracted displacement.
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