Journal Club session: Correlates of risk-taking behaviour and suicidality among humanitarian aid workers

We are organizing the fifth Journal Club Session with Dr. Hamed Seddighi from University of Groningen and the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

Dr. Seddighi is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Groningen in the Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology Department. He obtained his PhD in 2022 within the Campus Fryslan at the University of Groningen (Department of Governance and Innovation). His main research interest is the mental health of children and youth who are exposed to various stressful life-events (including the Groningen earthquakes). He is the Associate Editor of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness Journal (Cambridge Publication). In addition to his research work, Hamed has ten years of experience in executive positions in the Iranian Red Crescent Society (equivalent to the Red Cross) including Deputy for Youth, and Deputy of Education, Research & Technology. During these ten years, he collaborated with various international humanitarian organizations such as UNICEF, ICRC, and the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Center of the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) and served as the Dean for the Red Cross Applied Science University in Iran (Yazd Province).

The session will be based on article Dr. Seddighi co-authored in 2025 in the Journal of Comprehensive Psychiatry, titled Correlates of risk-taking behaviour and suicidality among humanitarian aid workers. We will aim to answer the following questions in this session:

• What do the findings tell us about the unique risks humanitarian aid workers face compared to other trauma-exposed populations?
• How might organisational factors (e.g., social support, culture, structures) mitigate or exacerbate these risks?
• What are the ethical and practical considerations in addressing suicidality and risk-taking behaviours in the field?
• Where are the main gaps in evidence, and what future research would be most impactful for practice?

The session will be moderated by Dr. Sarah Davidson, the Head of Psychosocial and Mental Health at the British Red Cross.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86301877539

Meeting ID: 863 0187 7539
Passcode: 212590