Doctoral Dissertation Research: Scientific Evidence concerning Humanitarian Interventions in Israeli Conflict Zones

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

Introduction In recent years, the mental health of people in conflict and disaster zones has attracted increasing attention among international humanitarian aid organizations. However, as compared with food or medical aid, mental health interventions pose unique design, coordination, and validation challenges. Amid ongoing debate over what falls within the domain of mental health, aid organizations are employing diverse interventions, ranging from individual therapy, to vocational training, to human rights advocacy. This diversity stems in part from variation in conditions on the ground and in part from disagreement about appropriate goals and methods. To improve oversight and communication, several multinational humanitarian consortia and research groups have worked to develop techniques for scientifically assessing the efficacy of mental health interventions in conflict and disaster zones. But given the varying needs of different populations and a lack of consensus about appropriate measures of success, producing convincing assessments poses significant challenges. Intellectual Merit This project examines the challenges that humanitarian organizations and researchers encounter when trying to implement and assess mental health interventions. It examines the methods that they employ to overcome these challenges, and the manner in which they evaluate the effectiveness of their assessment methods. To address these issues questions, the researcher will interview mental health practitioners, administrators, and researchers involved in humanitarian mental health interventions and conduct participant observation in humanitarian organizations that operate in Israel and the West Bank. The project will document the challenges of designing, delivering, and assessing mental health and psychological interventions in conflict zones, illuminating the complexities of knowledge transfer in the humanitarian sphere. Broader Impacts Because humanitarian actors use concepts of efficacy and oversight on a daily basis to plan and implement mental health interventions and justify funding for them, the analysis is likely to interest a variety of researchers, NGOs, and policy analysts.