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Reframing Bereavement as a Public Health Exposure: Field Notes From a Community-Based Mental Health Program in
Saundra Williams1, Roseline Yah Trokpao Chesson1, Robert Rufsvold1
1Saundra Williams is with Restore Hope, Lyme, NH. Roseline Yah Trokpao Chesson is with Restore Hope: Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia. Robert Rufsvold is with the Board of Restore Hope, Lyme. Bryan Cheng is with the Global Mental Health Lab, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Abstract:
Bereavement is often viewed as an individual life event; however, in postconflict Liberia, years of war and disease have transformed grief into a population-level exposure. Drawing on experience implementing group interpersonal therapy in Liberia, we describe how group-based, community-centered care facilitates recovery. Program outcomes from 2022 to 2025 demonstrate significant reductions in depression alongside improvements in social connection. These field notes underscore the need to address bereavement as a public health issue through community-based group interventions rather than localized, individual clinical care. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print October 8, 2026:e1-e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308752).
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