Adaptation and pilot trial of an intervention to reduce intimate partner violence and mental health symptoms among forcibly displaced resettled congolese populations in the united states

The National Institute of Mental Health awarded George Mason University $674,483 on September 24, 2025, under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) to adapt and pilot test the EA$E intervention—an eight-session discussion series addressing household financial well-being, budgeting, spousal communication, and alternatives to violence—for use with forcibly displaced Congolese populations in the United States to reduce intimate partner violence and mental health symptoms.

The project runs through September 23, 2028, with performance in Fairfax, Virginia. George Mason University serves as the prime recipient, with two sub-recipients carrying distinct roles. The International Rescue Committee, which originally developed EA$E through four years of research across 16 countries globally, will support recruitment and establishment of a Community Advisory Board; adapt and contextualize the intervention based on prior research findings; develop recruitment criteria for pilot and control groups; and engage cultural and linguistic validators to translate survey instruments and implementation guidelines. Arizona State University, through multiple principal investigator Karin Wachter, will provide on-the-ground research oversight in Phoenix, Arizona, lead methodological design for implementation processes and outcomes assessment, and oversee qualitative analyses.

The underlying research addresses documented disparities: forcibly displaced persons exposed to war and persecution face disproportionately high risk for intimate partner violence and mental health problems, yet U.S.-based programs focus primarily on connecting survivors to services after violence occurs rather than prevention. EA$E targets two drivers of IPV in crisis settings—household financial strain and sex-based inequity in decision-making—at individual and interpersonal levels through couples engaged in economic empowerment activities.

Abstract

Exposure to war, persecution, and forced migration put fdps at disproportionately high risk for IPV and mental health problems. Many FD women arrive from countries where IPV is prevalent, and face increased risk before, during, and after displacement. Foreign-born women who experience IPV are more likely to be severely injured or killed, and report worse mental health than US-born women. Financial and social stressors, and persistent SEX-based inequities in the US can exacerbate both IPV and poor mental health outcomes among fdps. Yet, US-based programs primarily focus on connecting survivors to services once IPV occurs, overlooking strategic opportunities to prevent IPV and poor mental health among fdps. In contrast to the US context, there is a rapidly evolving evidence-base of interventions developed globally that show promise in reducing IPV among fdps. The EA$e (economic and social empowerment) intervention (developed by IRC and MPI wachter), has been shown to reduce IPV and ptsd symptoms in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in west africa led by MPI gupta. The international rescue committee (IRC), a global humanitarian organization, developed EA$e to address two underlying drivers of IPV in crisis settings – household financial strain and SEX-based inequity in decision-making – innovatively diminishing risk factors associated with IPV. EA$e addresses IPV at the individual and interpersonal levels by leading couples engaged in economic activities through an 8-session discussion series on household financial wellbeing, budgeting, spousal communication, and alternatives to violence. US-based programs for fdps are in need of evidence-based curricula to address IPV and mental health. Our overall objective is to advance the nascent science of IPV prevention among fdps in the US. Our interdisciplinary team (public health, social work, and clinical psychology) is uniquely positioned to conduct the proposed study based on our combined expertise in IPV and mental health research and practice with fdps across settings and longstanding partnership with the IRC. Guided by the adapt-ITT framework, cascade implementation framework, and the nimh experimental therapeutics approach, we will develop EA$e-US, examine preliminary effectiveness on intervention and intermediary outcomes, and assess implementation outcomes via a hybrid type 2 pilot study design.