Short‐ and longer‐term impacts of Child Friendly Space Interventions in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement, Uganda

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.

Educational, psychosocial, and protection outcomes of child‐ and youth‐focused programming with Somali refugees in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia

“…This is in line with burgeoning evidence of the resilience of children based on their capacity to mobilise personal, familial, and community resources, even in the absence of programmatic support (Ungar et al, 2015;Ager and Metzler, 2017). It is also a consistent finding in the series of impact evaluations of which this study was a part (Metzler et al, 2015(Metzler et al, , 2019, and in a recent analysis of Panter-Brick et al (2018) of youths in Syrian refugee settlement areas in north Jordan.…”

“…A sample of youths and caregivers of younger children that had not yet taken part in any activities was selected from this registration list. Using a randomised cluster sampling approach like that adopted by similar studies in camp settings (Metzler et al, 2019), the sample for the second CYLC still under construction (operational from May 2012) was chosen via random selection of settlement blocks within the proposed catchment area of the camp. Each randomly selected block was visited and the household of every third numbered tent—if it contained children aged from 6–17 years—was invited to participate.…”

Improving mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in humanitarian settings: reflections on research funded through R2HC

“…Findings showed variation in benefits across sites and outcomes. Analyses support earlier findings [ 28 ] of small to moderate impacts on psychosocial wellbeing indicators after participation in CFS [ 29 ]. However, with improved well-being amongst comparison populations over time, these intervention benefits were generally not evident at 1-year follow-up.…”

“…De Jong, Ager and coworkers conducted an evaluation of psychological first aid as applied in the Ebola crisis in Liberia and Sierra Leone [ 27 ]. Savage and colleagues evaluated child friendly spaces across crises in Jordan, Nepal and Uganda [ 28 , 29 ], and are now conducting a trial of an enhanced CFS-design in Uganda.…”

Editorial: Navigating the science‐practice gap in child maltreatment

“…Metzler et al () present results from the first ever study of Child Friendly Spaces, an intervention implemented for 6‐ to 12‐year‐old Congolese refugee children in the Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in Uganda. The Child Friendly Spaces intervention is designed to attempt to provide children with a haven for constructive play and educational activities overseen by trained adult facilitators.…”