PROTOCOL: Life Skills Education and Psychosocial Interventions for Anxiety and Depression in Forcibly Displaced Persons in LMICs: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

This is the protocol for a Campbell review. Amid the cumulative burden of conflict-induced displacement in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), forcibly displaced persons often experience profound social and material adversity and limited access to mental health care. Life skills education (LSE) and psychosocial interventions may help mitigate anxiety and depression symptoms in low-resource humanitarian settings. Nonetheless, decision makers still require robust evidence on their effectiveness for depression and anxiety outcomes in forcibly displaced populations in LMICs. Our primary research question is: Among forcibly displaced persons in LMICs, what is the effectiveness of life skills education and psychosocial interventions, compared with inactive, usual care, or active control conditions, in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety? Our secondary research question is: What is the extent and completeness of sex and gender reporting in included studies, including how sex and gender are defined or measured and whether outcomes are reported or analyzed by sex or gender? The review will include refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons aged 13 years and older and will synthesize evidence from controlled studies.