CHANGE: Alcohol use in Humanitarian settings - A programme of work to address alcohol use disorders and associated adversities among conflict-affected populations in Uganda and Ukraine.

CHANGE is a five-year research project which started in July 2020 and is funded by the NIHR–Wellcome Partnership for Global Health Research. With partners in Uganda and Ukraine, we seek to further develop Problem Management Plus (PM+), an evidence-based psychological intervention developed by WHO designed for people with psychological distress exposed to adversity.

The overall aim of CHANGE is to address alcohol misuse and associated adversities among conflict-affected populations in Uganda and Ukraine, and to complement PM+ by adding an additional psychological component addressing alcohol misuse.

The specific objectives of CHANGE are to:

• To identify strategies and techniques from evidence-based alcohol use therapies which can be integrated into PM+, and to develop a new intervention called PM+A (Problem Management Plus Alcohol)
• To adapt PM+A to local circumstances, and to examine the feasibility, acceptability, perceived effectiveness and preliminary impact of PM+A
• To evaluate effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PM+A through two randomised controlled trials in Uganda and Ukraine
• To explore the process of implementation, and to identify, characterise and explain mechanisms that promote or inhibit the delivery and take-up of PM+A in both settings
• To examine the potential for scaling-up PM+A in Uganda and Ukraine

PM+A will be implemented among refugees from South Sudan living in the Rhino refugee settlement in Uganda; and internally displaced persons and other conflict-affected men (e.g. military veterans) in the region of Dnipro in Ukraine. CHANGE applies a participatory research approach with key stakeholders and conflict-affected populations involved in the development and implementation of the intervention.