ARQ researchers examined how healthy international humanitarian aid workers (iHAWS) at Médecins Sans Frontières Operational Centre Amsterdam (MSF OCA) are. How did their deployment impact their health? And how do iHAWS stay healthy despite working under extremely stressful conditions? One of the unique elements of this study was the focus on health rather than on illness. Health 'belongs to all of us', after all, and maintaining good health is a driver for organisational change.
Policies to reduce deployment-related stress
For the study, 600 iHAWS were monitored before and after their deployment. The findings are currently being published in a series of scientific papers. The findings of this study have contributed to policies aimed at reducing deployment-related stress and improving the health of iHAWS.
