Intervention provision and engagement in Colombia’s PAPSIVI: a national psychosocial support service for over half a million victims of armed conflict

Colombia’s PAPSIVI program is the world’s largest psychosocial support service for victims of armed conflict. It has provided support for over half a million civilians affected by the Colombian armed conflict. However, service delivery has only previously been examined in small studies, making it difficult to understand to what extent PAPSIVI delivers interventions that are well targeted to individuals with the most serious exposures to the armed conflict, and to what extent attendees remain engaged with offered interventions. We investigated how different conflict exposures related to intervention assignment and engagement. Results showed intervention types were broadly provided in line with PAPSIVI guidelines, with victims experiencing torture, sexual violence, and forced recruitment more likely to receive individual sessions, while community-level impacts received community interventions. Female sex, ethnic minority status, and receiving state-subsidised healthcare were associated with higher intervention engagement. Those with previous mental health diagnoses had increased odds of attending individual or family sessions but lower odds of group or community sessions, consistent with recommendations for more intensive intervention for those with higher mental health needs. It was observed that 29% of individual session attendees only received a single session, potentially indicating early dropout or unsuitable service provision for a proportion of attendees. Group sessions were infrequently used, suggesting they are not meeting community needs or are more difficult to deliver effectively. This study provides insights into support provision for conflict victims indicating that psychosocial support provision can be managed effectively at very large scales.