Psychosocial interventions and strategies to support young people at mass gathering events: a scoping review

Abstract

Objectives: To improve health and safety outcomes at mass gathering events (MGEs) for young attendees, it is essential to understand the psychosocial factors that may influence behaviour so that the implementation of support strategies before, during and after MGEs can be developed to enhance outcomes. This review identifies the psychosocial outcomes that may occur at MGEs, including social connection, substance use, risky behaviours and psychological distress and examines what interventions have been implemented to target these outcomes. Study design: Scoping review. Methods: This study examined MGE psychosocial interventions with predominantly youth attendees was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. Papers were collected from the databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO. Titles and abstracts were scanned for relevance, followed by a full-text screening. Information relevant to the research question was extracted from papers meeting the inclusion criteria. Results: Twenty-six papers met the inclusion criteria. The psychosocial factors that were most studied included social influence, social interactions and psychological stressors, which lead to behaviours such as excessive alcohol consumption, drug taking, risky casual sex and risk taking amongst psychological factors of young attendees. Effective interventions implemented before or during MGEs, such as alcohol-free zones, antidrinking campaigns, psychoeducation and disapproval from parents with regard to drinking alcohol, showed promise in reducing harms. Conclusion: Psychosocial interventions have the potential to reduce harms and enhance well-being for young people attending MGEs. This review has identified gaps and opportunities in the current literature with regard to psychosocial interventions and strategies to support young people at MGEs and makes recommendations to support the development and refinement of evidence-based interventions aimed at young MGE attendees.