Actions taken:
Subsequent to the co-signing of the open pledge by the National Red Cross Societies from Armenia, Switzerland, Sweden and the USA, a joint working group led by the Swiss Red Cross was created in September 2022. In addition to the four signing parties, a further 49 representatives from a total of 21 National Societies in 4 regions, the IFRC and the ICRC participated in the working group and contributed to the implementation of the pledge. The working group committed to the following four overarching goals:
• Identification of structural challenges for the implementation of digital MHPSS within the RCRC Movement
• Identification and practice-oriented communication of research results on digital MHPSS from within and outside the RCRC Movement to build capacity in the area of digital MHPSS
• Identification of evidence-based good practice examples of digital MHPSS in the RCRC Movement
• Identification, adaptation and further development of existing guidance for the implementation of digital MHPSS services within the RCRC Movement
All work results and deliverables produced by the working group as part of the Digital MHPSS pledge can be found on the following subpage of the IFRC PS Centre: Digital Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)
Actions taken:
• To identify the current status quo and assess the structural needs for a scalable integration of digital MHPSS within the RCRC Movement a survey was conducted from October 2021 to March 2022 in cooperation with the Department for International Development at the London School of Economics. The results of this mapping of digital MHPSS and the survey of important challenges with digital services, as well as recommendations derived from this, were recorded in a detailed final report and a management summary in English, Spanish and French. The results were also discussed with interested parties in recorded webinars in English and Spanish. All deliverables can be found in the “Learn about Digital MHPSS” chapter on the above website embedded in a practice-orientated introduction to digital MHPSS, which reflects the current state of knowledge.
• To raise awareness and provide a readily available introduction to the spectrum of digital MHPSS and relevant use cases in the RCRC Movement the working group has reviewed relevant studies and scientific articles on digital MHPSS as well as helpful existing practical guidelines from within and outside the RCRC Movement on digital MHPSS and discussed the findings in a webinar. The recording of the webinar as well as relevant capacity-building resources and articles are available for interested practitioners under the chapter “Dive deeper” on the above website.
• To promote the direct transfer of knowledge and exchange between the NS on the topic, technology-supported and internet-based MHPSS services from National Societies that have responded to the work group’s call are showcased in the chapter “Get inspired”. This identification and presentation of good practice examples is intended to enable professionals from RCRC Movement components who wish to develop a digital MHPSS service to enter into direct dialogue with experienced NS. The good practice examples should serve as inspiration for others and enable mutual learning.
• With the aim to provide practice-oriented, accessible guidance for the effective and efficient implementation of digital MHPSS initiatives at a local and global level, the working group collaboratively developed in the monthly meetings a first draft of the step-by-step guide for Digital MHPSS. This includes important learnings, tips and helpful resources (e.g. available software) from NS for the design, development, implementation and evaluation of digital MHPSS services. The guide was revised and finalized by the Swiss Red Cross with the support of an external consultant and can be found in the chapter “Get started”.
The objectives of the pledge could all be achieved. To continue this fruitful collaboration on the topic of Digital MHPSS in the years to come, some members expressed the wish to transform the current working group into a Community of Practice and Learning. This would provide space for joint further development and innovation, ensuring that digital MHPSS services can become an integral part of future care in the RCRC Movement. Discussions about possible forms of future collaboration are currently still ongoing.
In addition to the commitment of leading the working group, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) is implementing the Digital MHPSS pledge by making the innovation, technology and process development of the SRC self-help app “Sui”, a low-threshold and easily scalable digital intervention, accessible to other Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. In order to meet the psychological and psychosocial needs of refugee populations in Switzerland, the SRC, the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin) and the University of Bern co-developed “Sui” based on the open-source intervention platform DIRECT. In a pilot project with sister National Societies the SRC strives to obtain information for scaling, implementing and embedding Digital MHPSS services in different contexts of the RCRC Movement. Through these partnerships and the co-development of contextually appropriate, digital MHPSS services based on the existing software (DIRECT), the SRC is contributing to an effective exchange of ideas and resources and to the development of a long-term, sustainable solution for a global problem. More information about the open-source platform DIRECT can be found in the chapter “Get started”.
