Living with transience in high-risk humanitarian spaces: the gendered experiences of international staff and policy implications for building resilience

Public discourse narratives: from 'Secret Aid Worker' discontent to shifting power in humanitarian systems

Public discourse is rich in meaning, reflecting consensus, dissent, and change. Yet, very little public discourse on the humanitarian sector has been authored by aid workers themselves. We conducted a thematic analysis of the 'Secret Aid Worker' (SAW) series, published in The Guardian newspaper between 2015 and 2018, the only corpus of data on humanitarian life experiences publicly accessible through mainstream media. Our research questions were twofold: how did authors frame their work and appraise humanitarian structures?; and how did they reflect and amplify humanitarian issues of the time? The main themes included: personal challenges of humanitarian life; characterisation of stakeholders; and systemic issues within the humanitarian sector. The SAW narratives reveal a powerful discourse of discontent. They planted seeds of change regarding shifting power, coloniality and racism, sexual abuse, and duty of care. We argue that such public discourse has symbolic power, calling for greater accountability, equity, and justice in remaking the future of the humanitarian sector.

How to care for carers: Psychosocial care for local staff of aid agencies

While mental health and psychosocial support receive substantial international attention in humanitarian aid, the well-being of local aid agency staff themselves is often overlooked. This research, using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design composed of two rounds of interviews (N = 23) and a survey (N = 146), highlights the constraints that local staff encounter to access psychosocial support. The study presents a snapshot of what mental health and psychosocial support is available for aid workers active in emergencies. Among local staff, 50 per cent deem the support not to be appropriate. The main causes are a lack of information regarding the available care, a lack of time to access care, and a lack of trust to access services provided through the employer. This paper suggests that agencies can improve local staff welfare by alleviating stressors related to short-term contracts, granting access to after-assignment care, and catering to a wider array of coping strategies.

Predictors of mental health in aid workers: meaning, resilience, and psychological flexibility as personal resources for increased well-being and reduced distress

Aid workers operate in stressful environments and tend to experience high psychological distress, yet not enough is known about their well-being and how to improve their mental health. This research project surveyed 243 aid workers in 77 countries undertaking humanitarian and development work who reported lower well-being and higher psychological distress than the general population. Well-being and distress emerged as two related but distinct mental health outcomes, encouraging further research on well-being in the sector. Better mental health outcomes were predicted by the presence of meaning, psychological flexibility, and resilience. Presence of meaning was the strongest predictor, whereas resilience was the weakest. Meaning was a stronger predictor of good mental health among national workers, whereas psychological flexibility was a stronger predictor among female, older, and international workers. These results can support evidence-based approaches to staff care and mental health interventions for aid workers, expanding the current focus on resilience to include meaning and psychological flexibility.

Burdening and Protective Organisational Factors among International Volunteers in Greek Refugee Camps—A Qualitative Study

A majority of the workforce in the humanitarian aid consists of volunteers who partly suffer from health problems related to their voluntary service. To date, only a fraction of the current research focuses on this population. The aim of this qualitative explorative study was to identify burdening and protective organisational factors for health and well-being among humanitarian aid volunteers in a Greek refugee camp. To this end, interviews with 22 volunteers were held on site and afterwards analysed by using qualitative content analysis. We focused on international volunteers working in Greece that worked in the provision of food, material goods, emotional support and recreational opportunities. We identified burdening factors, as well as protective factors, in the areas of work procedures, team interactions, organisational support and living arrangements. Gender-specific disadvantages contribute to burdening factors, while joyful experiences are only addressed as protective factors. Additionally, gender-specific aspects in the experience of team interactions and support systems were identified. According to our findings, several possibilities for organisations to protect health and well-being of their volunteers exist. Organisations could adapt organisational structures to the needs of their volunteers and consider gender-specific factors.

Identifying best practice for the supervision of mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian emergencies: a Delphi study

BACKGROUND

Supportive supervision has been shown to improve worker resilience and wellbeing, which are particularly important in the context of humanitarian emergency settings. Despite its noted importance however, supervision remains an under-prioritised area in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).

METHOD

The present study used a Delphi consensus-building methodology to examine levels of agreement among a diverse sample of MHPSS stakeholders (n = 48) on key ideas and concepts relating to supervision in humanitarian settings.

RESULTS

The majority of statements presented showed a high degree of consensus, with some receiving almost universal agreement, such as the importance of using active listening skills in the supervisory context and the need for supervisors to have access to their own supervisory support. However, disagreement on several points remained. For example, participants disagreed about whether the qualities required to be an effective supervisor can be taught, or whether they are more innate and should be screened for when recruiting supervisors. Gender differences in responses were also analysed, with potential associations between gender and level of agreement emerging in relation to statements about power dynamics, remote supervision, and intervention quality enhancement.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of the present study are discussed in terms of their implications for a forthcoming set of guidelines for supervision of MHPSS in humanitarian settings: The Integrated Model for Supervision (IMS).