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Article History

Received: 16 August 2019

Accepted: 16 December 2019

First Online: 13 February 2020

Ethics approval and consent to participate

: The Institutional Review Board of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health approved all data collection instruments and procedures. At every data collection encounter for the parent study, study staff obtained oral consent in Swahili, the predominant local language, and participants were reminded that they could decline to participate at any time. Additional oral consent was requested for participation in the sub-study, in which the mental health questionnaire was described as well as the potential risks and benefits of participation. Oral consent was used instead of written due to the low levels of literacy in the population. The use of oral consent was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The consent script was read aloud by the enumerators and verbal assent was obtained from participants. Participants were provided with a contact card so they could reach the ADRA Chief of Party or a member of the data collection team if they had any questions or felt they had been harmed by participating. The parent study was also approved by the Ministry of Health in the Province of South Kivu, the Bureau of the Territory Administrator in Uvira, and the Bureau of the Rural Health Zone of Fizi.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. SD is an editorial board member, but had no role in the editorial process.