Ukrainian children's health & wellbeing during war: Research to guide policy

This event is organized by the University of Michigan's Center for Global Health Equity. 

Research based on the global World Mental Health study demonstrates that civilians exposed to armed conflict as young children experience significant mental disorders years, sometimes decades, later. These long-term consequences—identified across multiple countries and diverse settings—show the direct link from armed conflict at one point in time to adverse outcomes in the longer term. Identifying specific mechanisms that tie these childhood experiences to long-term problems is fundamental to designing interventions and policies to reduce those consequences. A team of data collection scientists with ties to the University of Michigan are collaborating to create the data to identify experiences of war that are likely to produce long-term consequences for the children’s wellbeing.

In this presentation, the Rating Group’s Deputy Director, Tetiana Skrypchenko, will explore her team's work through a health lens, focusing on wartime surveys to plan health-related interventions and policies for families and children. Following Tetiana's talk, Stephanie Chardoul, Director of Survey Research Operations at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, will describe the pilot work done to launch a collaborative longitudinal survey project centered on children's health among displaced Ukrainian families. Group discussions will be moderated by William Axinn, a research professor at the Institute for Social Research and a member of the Center for Global Health Equity, ensuring a continued focus on the health implications of Tetiana's work.  

About the Speakers

Tetiana Skrypchenko, Deputy Director, The Rating Group, Ukraine

Shrypchenko is Deputy Director and Head of the Analytical Department of Experimental Research at the Ukrainian independent research institution Rating Group. She has managed over 35 research projects across various levels, including combining surveys in Ukraine and among Ukrainian refugees abroad since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. She designs comprehensive research plans, leads and mentors research teams, and conducts data analyses using advanced statistical techniques. Her most relevant recent work includes research identifying barriers to accessing routine vaccination services among parents; the study of the problems of Ukrainian children in conditions of war; the survey of mine safety behavior practices among parents and children; and an MHPSS survey of Ukrainian adults, parents, adolescents for UNICEF.

Stephanie Chardoul, Director, Survey Research Operations (SRO), Survey Research Center (SRC), The University of Michigan

Chardoul has 30+ years of experience in survey research operations and methods, including the design and conduct of large-scale complex surveys, and managing direct data collection. She directs the World Health Organization’s Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) Training and Reference Centre. Her research experience and interests include survey research methodology, mixed-method data collection, international data collection including cross-cultural comparative methods, and mental health-related research. In her role as SRO Director, she is responsible for the design of and data collection for multiple projects spanning various disciplines and substantive areas. SRO develops and maintains processes and systems to ensure excellent quality and service to each project, employing best practices in survey methodology. She also leads the international research programs of the SRC.

William Axinn, Interim Director, International Policy Center, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy and Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan

Axinn is a sociologist and demographer who implements studies of families to investigate the links between population processes and health and well-being. Axinn directs the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS), a 30-year longitudinal comprehensive study of individuals, households, and communities in Nepal. For this recent collaboration in Ukraine, he draws on his work following CVFS families through the time of Nepal’s 8-year armed conflict and its long-term impact on family dynamics, child health, mental health, attitudes and beliefs, and migration, education, community change.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Global Health Equity, the Weiser Center for Europe & Eurasia, the Office of Global Public Health, and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

Faculty Expert

William Axinn

Professor of Sociology and Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)

• global health
• Center for Global Health Equity
• Bill Axinn
• Ukraine
• Tetiana Skrypchenko