Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec;58(12):1761-1771.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-021-02061-5. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Research, education and capacity building priorities for violence, abuse and mental health in low- and middle-income countries: an international qualitative survey

Roxanne C Keynejad  1 , Abigail Bentley  2 , Urvita Bhatia  3 , Oliva Nalwadda  4 , Fikru Debebe Mekonnen  5 , Parveen A Ali  6 , Julie McGarry  7
Affiliations

Research, education and capacity building priorities for violence, abuse and mental health in low- and middle-income countries: an international qualitative survey

Roxanne C Keynejad et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: Despite the World Health Organization and United Nations recognising violence, abuse and mental health as public health priorities, their intersection is under-studied in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). International violence, abuse and mental health network (iVAMHN) members recognised the need to identify barriers and priorities to develop this field.

Methods: Informed by collaborative discussion between iVAMHN members, we conducted a pilot study using an online survey to identify research, education and capacity building priorities for violence, abuse and mental health in LMICs. We analysed free-text responses using thematic analysis.

Results: 35 senior (29%) and junior researchers (29%), non-government or voluntary sector staff (18%), health workers (11%), students (11%) and administrators (3%) completed the survey. Respondents worked in 24 LMICs, with 20% working in more than one country. Seventy-four percent of respondents worked in sub-Saharan Africa, 37% in Asia and smaller proportions in Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Respondents described training, human resource, funding and sensitivity-related barriers to researching violence, abuse and mental health in LMICs and recommended a range of actions to build capacity, streamline research pathways, increase efficiency and foster collaborations and co-production.

Conclusion: The intersection between violence, abuse and mental health in LMICs is a priority for individuals with a range of expertise across health, social care and the voluntary sector. There is interest in and support for building a strong network of parties engaged in research, service evaluation, training and education in this field. Networks like iVAMHN can act as hubs, bringing together diverse stakeholders for collaboration, co-production and mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and skills.

Keywords: Abuse; Capacity building; Global mental health; Low- and middle-income countries; Mental health; Violence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest or competing interests.

References

    1. UNHCR (2019) Sexual and gender based violence. https://www.unhcr.org/uk/sexual-and-gender-based-violence.html Accessed 12 June 2020
    1. WHO (2017) Violence against women. http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women. Accessed 28 Apr 2018
    1. Home_Office (2013) Information for local areas on the change to the definition of domestic violence and abuse. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa.... Accessed 3 May 2020
    1. WHO (2017) Violence against women. https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women. Accessed 7 Dec 2020
    1. Garcia-Moreno C, Jansen HA, Ellsberg M, Heise L, Watts CH. Prevalence of intimate partner violence: findings from the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence. Lancet. 2006;368(9543):1260–1269. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69523-8. - DOI - PubMed