Interventions and participatory clinical research for the enhancement of health systems interfacing with displaced Afghan women

In light of the 2021 United States military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the humanitarian crises of mass displacement and health system strain that have ensued, this article focuses on Afghan family systems as a means of enhancing practitioner awareness of the potential impact of adverse life experiences on resettled Afghans’ receptivity to psychosocial interventions at least partially rooted in Western methodologies. As they bear a disproportionate impact of constraints within Afghan society, and as patriarchal systems affect most of their life domains, in addition to migration and conflict-induced stress, women from Afghanistan may have high baseline trauma levels upon resettlement. In the absence of robust literature on evidence-based psychosocial interventions for this population, ethnographic work and literature on existing clinical models alleged to be compatible with Afghan norms is reviewed and synthesized. The article finds the need for improved provider education in working with foreign-born populations, and thus proposes participatory research design considerations for future clinical studies, elaborating on important considerations for the evaluation of extant understandings following social reorganization on a massive scale.