This study aims to determine the mental health conditions and levels of hope of ex-refugees from East Timor who chose to become Indonesian citizens during the 1999 referendum. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-42 and the Adult Hope Scale were used to assess the mental health conditions and levels of hope of 172 former East Timorese refugees, aged at least 37 years old and living at the border. The results showed that the mental health condition of former East Timorese refugees was good or normal. Despite experiencing various problems, several factors contribute to their good mental health conditions, such as economic factors, education, family, security, effective Indonesian government policies, and social and cultural factors. The results also show that former East Timorese refugees living on the border have high and medium levels of hope. The findings of this study provide a deeper understanding of the right of former refugees to attain psychological well-being in their country.
This study assesses the effect of armed conflict intensity, measured by the frequency and severity of violent incidents at the departmental level, on women's uptake of antenatal care in Colombia. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using the 2015 Colombian Demographic and Health Survey linked to data from the National Center for Historical Memory for 1985-2015. Multilevel logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the association between departmental conflict intensity and the probability of attending four or more antenatal visits, adjusting for individual-, household-, and area-level covariates. After adjustment, residing in departments with high conflict intensity was associated with lower odds of attending ≥4 antenatal visits compared with low-intensity departments (OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.42-0.95, p < 0.005). Household wealth moderated this association. Independently, higher maternal wealth, autonomy, and education increased the likelihood of attending ≥4 visits, whereas shorter birth intervals, a greater number of children under five in the household, and urban residence reduced that likelihood. High intensity armed conflict is independently associated with reduced uptake of recommended antenatal care in Colombia. Maternal socioeconomic resources modify this relationship. Maternal health strategies tailored to the constraints of high conflict settings are needed to improve antenatal care coverage and equity.
This study examines the relationship between armed conflict exposure and child mortality using a large-scale, multi-country dataset. We pool cross-sectional data from 105 Demographic and Health Surveys across 52 countries between 1998 and 2018, linking georeferenced conflict events from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) with individual-level records for 943,139 preschool-age children. A Cox proportional hazards model is used to estimate the association between conflict exposure and under-five mortality, controlling for socio-economic, demographic, and provincial-level characteristics. Results show a significant and robust association between conflict exposure and excess child mortality. In the baseline model, exposed children face a higher log hazard of death (β = 0.186, p < 0.01), corresponding to roughly a 20% increase in mortality hazard. The association holds regionally, with a 24% higher hazard in Asia and a 14% increase in Africa, and remains significant in fully adjusted specifications. Mediation analyses reveal that conflict exposure reduces maternal healthcare utilization (4+ ANC visits: β = -0.202, p < 0.01) and institutional delivery (β = -0.188, p < 0.01). Findings are robust across alternative conflict measures, geo-coded sub-samples, and non-migrant populations. The evidence highlights the urgent need to protect maternal and child health services in conflict-affected settings.
