Digital intervention reduces depression and anxiety in Ukrainian young people displaced by war
Results from a randomised controlled trial delivering a brief problem-solving digital mental health intervention to young Ukrainian refugees show significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. The research demonstrates that a small, low-cost, scalable intervention delivered in schools through mobile devices may support the mental health of millions of displaced young people.
UNICEF reports that 47 million children and adolescents have been displaced from their homes in recent years due to war and conflict. As a consequence of the hardships and trauma they experience, these young people often develop significant mental health problems, particularly anxiety and depression. Without access to therapists who can provide appropriate mental health support in the young person’s first language, refugee children and adolescents can struggle with long-term mental health conditions. Digital interventions offer a low-cost, scalable solution to help displaced young people with their urgent mental health needs.
An international research group led by Professor John Weisz (Harvard University), with senior author Dennis Ougrin (WIPH), tested a Ukrainian-language version of an evidence-based digital mental health intervention (Project SOLVE) among 709 Ukrainian students, aged 10-18, who had been displaced to Poland. The 30-minute intervention, delivered in schools through mobile devices, teaches problem-solving by providing students with strategies for solving everyday problems, such as school stress and interpersonal conflict. Standard tests of the students’ mental health were taken by all participants at the start of the trial, and one and four months later.
Results, published in The Lancet Primary Care, showed reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety in displaced young people, at both one and four months after the intervention. The study also confirmed that Project SOLVE was easily administered in the classroom, with minimal disruption to learning. Participating students gave positive ratings on all seven items of the Program Feedback Scale, and indicated that the intervention was acceptable and useful, and that they would recommend it to a friend who needed support.
An accompanying commentary by academics in Germany notes: “The research team included internationally recognised experts in child and adolescent mental health and Ukrainian professionals residing in both Ukraine and Poland….The intervention offers a foundation for building much-needed stepped-care approaches in which youths are screened for mental health difficulties and offered a timely and needs-oriented intervention.”
Professor Weisz (Harvard University) said: “Children displaced by conflict are at elevated risk of long-term psychological harm, but access to mental health services is often limited or non-existent. In our trial, with Ukrainian young people in Poland, we found the effects of our 30-minute intervention lasted for four months. Given the need of the population and the promising findings of this trial, we would like to continue to explore whether project SOLVE could be useful in other refugee settings.”
Senior author Professor Dennis Ougrin (Youth Resilience Research Unit, Wolfson Institute of Population Health Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health) said: “Project SOLVE shows that even a single, low-cost, scalable intervention delivered through schools and mobile devices can make a difference. The results were clear: those who received the intervention reported lower levels of internalising symptoms - feelings like sadness, worry, and withdrawal - compared with peers in the control group. Among participants with high initial distress, benefits were even more striking, with effect sizes nearly doubling. Project SOLVE’s strength lies in its simplicity and accessibility. At a time when millions of displaced young people remain underserved, this research suggests a promising step toward meeting their urgent mental health needs - one mobile device at a time.”
This study arose from a proposal by the GROW Network, a group of psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals convened after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The authors have also discussed their work in a Lancet Primary Care podcast.
John R Weisz, Joshua S Steinberg, Jingxuan Sun, Patrick Mair, Olivia M Fitzpatrick, Nataliia Karapata, Maryna Yusyn, Gauri Sood, Andrea Danese, Kate M Adams, Dennis Ougrin. Effects of a brief digital problem-solving intervention on depression and anxiety symptoms in Ukrainian children and adolescents displaced by war: a crossover randomized controlled trial. The Lancet Primary Care, 17 July 2025. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanprc/article/PIIS3050-5143(25)00001-9/fulltext