Symposia
Culture / Ethnicity / Race
Amanda Nguyen, M.A., Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
University of Virginia
Earlysville, Virginia
Tara Russell, MSc
Independent Contractor
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland
Stephanie Skavenski, M.A. (she/her/hers)
Senior Research Associate
Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland
Sergiy Bogdanov, DSc
Director
Center for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, NAUMKA
Kyiv, Kyyiv, Ukraine
Kira Lomakina, MA
Clinical Director
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Kyiv, Kyyiv, Ukraine
Iryna Ivaniuk, PhD
Senior Researcher
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Kyiv, Kyyiv, Ukraine
Paul Bolton, DPH
Agency Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Coordinator
USAID
Washington, District of Columbia
Laura Murray, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Senior Research Scientist
Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health
Houston, Texas
Judy Bass, PhD
Associate Professor
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland
Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 74% of adults with mental health needs reported not receiving services due in part to Ukraine’s highly centralized mental health system and reliance on psychiatric inpatient services, which contributed to substantial mental health stigma (Weissbecket et al., 2017). Building on evidence for the effectiveness of the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA) in Ukraine, this presentation will describe the iterative process of developing CETA Psychosocial Support (CPSS), a brief psychosocial support adaptation of CETA for Ukrainian veterans and their families. The aim of CPSS was to provide a light-touch intervention that could be delivered by lay providers and integrated into existing community-level health and social service systems as both mental health prevention as well as a pathway to care. Intervention development was guided by stakeholder engagement sessions, literature review, and expert consultations, and included a period of iterative piloting and refinement. The final program consisted of a fixed intervention template including psychoeducation, self-assessment of mental health symptoms, and safety assessment (i.e., “Basic CPSS”; CPSS-B), with optional inclusion of additional cognitive coping skill development (i.e., “Enhanced CPSS”; CPSS-E). After finalizing the model, CPSS was evaluated in a randomized control trial in which 1,177 Ukrainian veterans and adult family members of veterans were randomized to one of the two active CPSS conditions, both delivered online. Participation in either CPSS condition was associated with significant pre-post decreases in self-reported symptoms, social disconnect, alcohol use, functional impairment, and aggression. At post-test, participants rated both versions of the program high on implementation domains of adoption, acceptability, appropriateness, and reach. Inclusion of cognitive coping training in CPSS-E led to a significantly greater decrease in self-reported symptoms of distress than CPSS-B (d=0.29, p< .01), and significantly greater perceptions of acceptability (d=.30, p< .01) and appropriateness (d=.47, p< .01). In addition, of those who were referred to higher level care, 44% of those in the CPSS-B condition (N=91) and 50% of those in the CPSS-E condition (N=90) initiated services. These outcomes suggest that CPSS is an acceptable and effective brief psychosocial prevention and promotion program that can be implemented by trained veteran lay providers.