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COSTAR Project

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Gender and family relations

The Community-Based Sociotherapy Adapted for Refugees (COSTAR) project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of community-based sociotherapy (CBS) in reducing depressive symptomology in Congolese refugees. COSTAR is implemented in partnership with Liverpool University, the University of Rwanda, Makerere University (Uganda) and UNHCR. It is funded by the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council).

The Community-Based Sociotherapy Adapted for Refugees (COSTAR) project is a research project that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of community-based sociotherapy (CBS) in addressing psychosocial difficulties encountered by refugees and in particular to assess whether community-based sociotherapy reduces depressive symptomology in Congolese refugees. CBS Rwanda is in charge of coordinating the implementation of CBS approach. The project is implemented in Gihembe refugee camp in Rwanda where it targets Congolese Kinyarwanda speakers and in Kyangwali settlement in Uganda where it targets Congolese Swahili speakers. In Uganda CBS Rwanda partners with the Humanitarian Initiative Just Relief Aid (HIJRA). The University of Rwanda (UR) coordinates the research in Rwanda and Makerere University coordinates the research in Uganda; both universities are supervised by Liverpool University. With adaptation of CBS to refugee context, it will be done the Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), an health economic evaluation of the CBS delivery, process evaluation to enhance the replicability and generalizability of COSTAR, the implementation guidance, mentorship for clinical trial management and the development of knowledge exchange resources for evaluating interventions for refugees.