COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Among Children in Humanitarian Settings

From April 2020 to December 2021, the COVID-19 mapping team published the COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis series as a periodic digest of COVID-19 related resources (guidance, news, and academic articles), with the purpose to identify emerging child protection risks, responses, and apparent resource gaps. Each evidence synthesis analyses a different topic related to child protection during COVID-19. 

The purpose of this evidence synthesis is to summarise what is already known about the impacts of the pandemic on children’s mental health risks, specifically in humanitarian settings with the aim of providing an overview of evidence to date. This synthesis captures the toll that COVID-19 and public health measures to reduce its transmission have taken on children’s mental health worldwide due to stressors from social isolation, family hardships, school closures, service interruptions, and economic crises. Evidence relevant to mental health and psychosocial support generally and in conflict-affected settings were included. Together, 52 academic articles and resources and 21 news articles from April 2020 to July 2021 were compiled for this report.

Find the full set of resources and articles on key CPMS Standards and topics around child protection and COVID-19 in the COVID-19 Resource Tracker.