U-RISE Project

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, millions of people have fled the country. The exposure to war-related traumatic experiences puts refugees at high risk of developing mental health problems and imposes significant challenges on the health care systems of host countries. U-RISE aims to improve the mental wellbeing of the displaced people of Ukraine by building sustainable capacity to implement scalable, evidence-based mental health interventions adapted to the specific and diverse needs of refugees affected by the war. U-RISE aims are to: • Mobilise and reinforce a European network of Ukrainian and Russian-speaking mental health professionals to exchange practices, experiences and knowledge and to promote synergy with international agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders; • build capacity to enable people, communities and organisations to implement evidence-based, face-to-face psychological interventions in Slovakia, Poland and Romania and m-health interventions across the continent; and • develop plans for sustainable scale-up and transfer across the EU. Considering the local context and health systems, we will disseminate training materials to provide the necessary local conditions for implementing and up-scaling. We will train trainers and NGOs in implementing scalable WHO stepped care programmes (SH+/PM+) in 3 EU regions (Poland, Romania and Slovakia) and disseminate promising m-health interventions. Through networking activities, we will develop a roadmap of mental health services to accelerate referral pathways for those needing more intensive mental health services. U-RISE builds on successful partnerships complemented by key grassroots organisations: #VUA Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam #LUX University of Luxemburg #IMC International Medical Corps #ARQ ARQ Centrum 45 #UNVR University of Verona #PHONEO #TENENET