Ukrainian children's health & wellbeing during war

Research-based on the global World Mental Health study demonstrates that civilians exposed to armed conflict as young children experience significant mental disorders years, sometimes decades, later. These long-term consequences—identified across multiple countries and diverse settings—show the direct link from armed conflict at one point in time to adverse outcomes in the longer term. Identifying specific mechanisms that tie these childhood experiences to long-term problems is fundamental to designing interventions and policies to reduce those consequences. A team of data collection scientists with ties to the University of Michigan are collaborating to create the data to identify experiences of war that are likely to produce long-term consequences for the children’s wellbeing.

In this presentation, the Rating Group’s Deputy Director, Tetiana Skrypchenko, will explore her team's work through a health lens, focusing on wartime surveys to plan health-related interventions and policies for families and children. Following Tetiana's talk, Stephanie Chardoul, Director of Survey Research Operations at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, will describe the pilot work done to launch a collaborative longitudinal survey project centered on children's health among displaced Ukrainian families. Group discussions will be moderated by William Axinn, a research professor at the Institute for Social Research and a member of the Center for Global Health Equity, ensuring a continued focus on the health implications of Tetiana's work.