BibTex format
@article{Tucker:2026:10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101783,
author = {Tucker, S and Baldonado, N and Ruina, OH and Melendez-Torres, GJ and Flaxman, S and Bryn, L and Rawlings, L and Goldman, P and Louchnikov, K and Baldonado, J and Machabeli, T and Ivanina, A and Boichenko, O and Halych, D and Kravchuk, Y and Romanenko, O and Derzhak, Y and Lyagul, N and Stupak, N and Yehorova, S and Tokarchuk, I and Masiuk, M and Yavorska, A and Havrish, A and Tishchenko, L and Bondarenko, M and Lytvynenko, N and Lyagul, O and Kharchenko, O and Yastrebova, T and Kleymyonova, O and Krutii, O and Dvoryanova, H and Makarieieva, I and Antoniuk, L and Antikalo, Z and Shevchenko-Szela, Y and Derkach, O and Derkach, S and Tur, V and Mohilevskiy, M and Vallance, I and Kharchenko, S and Sherr, L and Ratmann, O and Lachman, J and Cluver, L and Hillis, S},
doi = {10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101783},
journal = {The Lancet Regional Health - Europe},
title = {Effectiveness of the hope groups intervention on mental health, parenting practices, and violence against children among Ukrainian parents and caregivers affected by war and displacement: a cluster randomised controlled trial},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101783},
year = {2026}
}
RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)
TY - JOUR
AB - BackgroundAlmost two-thirds of the world’s children live in conflict-affected countries, including Ukraine, where two-thirds of children were displaced after Russia’s 2022 invasion. To address the urgent need for effective approaches to support parents and protect children in war, we designed Hope Groups—a group-based mental health, parenting, and violence prevention intervention—and used a cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) to evaluate its effectiveness.MethodsWe conducted a two-arm, parallel cRCT comprising K = 90 clusters and N = 510 parents/caregivers, who were internally displaced, externally displaced, or at home in war-affected Ukraine. Primary outcomes, assessed at baseline and after completing the 12-session intervention (endline), included caregiver mental health, parenting practices, and violence against children. Clusters were randomly assigned to immediate Hope Groups intervention (K = 45; N = 255) or waitlist control (K = 45; N = 255). Interim analyses were conducted after the first 20 clusters reached trial endline. The trial was prospectively registered with Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/uvj67) and subsequently registered on ClinicalTrials.gov to align with ICMJE guidance (NCT07470333).FindingsAfter completion of the 12-session intervention, the Hope Groups intervention demonstrated medium-to-large effects across all measured primary outcomes compared with the control arm. Caregivers in the intervention arm reported 57.4% lower levels of parental depression and anxiety (β = −2.85; 95% CI = −3.49, −2.22; d = −0.86); 52.7% lower levels of violence against children (β = −0.5; 95% CI = −0.64, −0.36; d = −0.43); 33% higher parenting practices (β = 1.32, 95% CI = 0.92, 1.71, d = 0.57), compared to the control arm. Response rate was high: 98.6%. There were no adverse events or harms.InterpretationThe results demonstrate that the Hope Groups intervention i
AU - Tucker,S
AU - Baldonado,N
AU - Ruina,OH
AU - Melendez-Torres,GJ
AU - Flaxman,S
AU - Bryn,L
AU - Rawlings,L
AU - Goldman,P
AU - Louchnikov,K
AU - Baldonado,J
AU - Machabeli,T
AU - Ivanina,A
AU - Boichenko,O
AU - Halych,D
AU - Kravchuk,Y
AU - Romanenko,O
AU - Derzhak,Y
AU - Lyagul,N
AU - Stupak,N
AU - Yehorova,S
AU - Tokarchuk,I
AU - Masiuk,M
AU - Yavorska,A
AU - Havrish,A
AU - Tishchenko,L
AU - Bondarenko,M
AU - Lytvynenko,N
AU - Lyagul,O
AU - Kharchenko,O
AU - Yastrebova,T
AU - Kleymyonova,O
AU - Krutii,O
AU - Dvoryanova,H
AU - Makarieieva,I
AU - Antoniuk,L
AU - Antikalo,Z
AU - Shevchenko-Szela,Y
AU - Derkach,O
AU - Derkach,S
AU - Tur,V
AU - Mohilevskiy,M
AU - Vallance,I
AU - Kharchenko,S
AU - Sherr,L
AU - Ratmann,O
AU - Lachman,J
AU - Cluver,L
AU - Hillis,S
DO - 10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101783
PY - 2026///
SN - 2666-7762
TI - Effectiveness of the hope groups intervention on mental health, parenting practices, and violence against children among Ukrainian parents and caregivers affected by war and displacement: a cluster randomised controlled trial
T2 - The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101783
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101783
ER -