Nutritional status of Palestinian preschoolers in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The authors examined factors associated with nutritional resilience/vulnerability among preschoolers in the Gaza Strip in 2007, where political violence and deprivation are widespread.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2007 using random sampling of kindergartens in order to select 350 preschoolers. Binary logistic regression was used to compare resilient (adequate nutrition) and vulnerable (stunted) groups with those with moderate nutrition.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in Palestinian children affected by the war on Gaza.

The Gaza Strip has been badly affected by war and conflict over the past four decades. Palestinians are exposed to repeated incursions of the border areas, with many resulting casualties. At the end of December 2008, more than 230 Palestinians were killed and at least 770 were injured, including 100 in critical condition, after an Israeli airstrike.

Health-related quality of life of Palestinian preschoolers in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Research on children's responses to wartime trauma has mostly addressed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, PTSD is only one aspect of a complex set of responses. This study proposes to expand knowledge of well-being in children exposed to political violence through widening the conceptualization of well-being beyond PTSD, morbidity, and mortality by measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its facets, physical health, and psychosocial health.

Palestinian mothers' perceptions of child mental health problems and services.

The aim of this study was to explore Palestinian mothers' perceptions of child mental health problems and their understanding of their causes; to determine Palestinian mothers' awareness of existing services and sources of help and support; to identify professionals in the community whom Palestinian mothers would consult if their child had mental health problems; and to establish their views on ways of increasing awareness of child mental health issues and services. Checklists exploring the above issues were completed by 249 Palestinian mothers living in refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian mothers equally perceived emotional, behavioural and psychotic symptoms as suggestive of mental ill health in childhood.

Group crisis intervention for children during ongoing war conflict.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term impact of a group crisis intervention for children aged 9-15 years from five refugee camps in the Gaza Strip during ongoing war conflict. Children were selected if they reported moderate to severe posttraumatic stress reactions, and were allocated to group intervention (N=47) encouraging expression of experiences and emotions through storytelling, drawing, free play and role-play; education about symptoms (N=22); or no intervention (N=42). Children completed the CPTSD-RI and the CDI pre- and post-intervention.

Advocating multi-disciplinarity in studying complex emergencies: the limitations of a psychological approach to understanding how young people cope with prolonged conflict in Gaza.

The paper looks at the limitations and strengths of using the A-cope questionnaire for measuring strategies for coping with prolonged conflict by Palestinian young people in Gaza. The scale was administered to young people between the ages of 8 and 17. The results show some gender differences in coping strategies.