About

Rita Doumit, PhD, MPH, RN

Dr. Rita Doumit is an associate professor at Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing. She joined LAU in 2009, since the early conception of the school as the first faculty member, and contributed greatly to its establishment and development.

Education

Research Interests and Projects

Dr. Doumit’s research program focuses on adolescent mental health and nutritional behaviors within conflict-affected environments. Drawing on her background in public health nursing, she specializes in designing, implementing, and evaluating culturally responsive behavioral interventions that foster emotional intelligence and psychological resilience in youth.

Her major project portfolio includes leading a WHO-funded healthy lifestyle intervention in 2018 to reduce youth anxiety and depression. Additionally, in 2022, she joined forces with LAU colleagues from the psychology department to co-direct the implementation of the “Yes to Emotions in Youth” (YEY) intervention. Backed by a $185,000 grant from Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), this project delivers crucial emotional training to 600 vulnerable youth in public schools.

Her latest work, launched in June 2025, includes the “COPE for HOPE” project in Baalbek. This initiative expands her research footprint to the community level, utilizing rigorous mixed-methods evaluations—including emotional diaries and standardized psychological metrics—to track post-traumatic growth and adaptive coping strategies among youth navigating the acute trauma of the ongoing war.

Selected Publications

Malhame, M., Zeeni, N., Abi Kharma, J. & *Doumit, R. The COPE Intervention for War-Affected Adolescents: A CBT-Based Program to Enhance Quality of Life and Mental Health. Published in Worldviews Evidence Based Nursing (June 2026).

El Hajj, S., Chaaya, R. Malhame, M., Doumit, R. & Sanchez-Ruiz, MJ. Emotion Diaries and Emotional Intelligence in Lebanese Youth: A Qualitative Study. Published in the Journal of Qualitative studies on Health & Well-Being (June, 2026).

Doumit, R., Hallit, S., Sanchez-Ruiz, M., & *Malhame, M. Psychometric validation of an Arabic version of the WHO-5 wellbeing scale among Lebanese Adolescents. Published in PLOS ONE (June, 2025).

‡Davis, B., Badr, L. & *Doumit, R. Health-Promoting Behaviors among American and Lebanese Nursing Students (January 2022). Published in Worldviews Evidenced Based Nursing.

Kazandjian, C., Militello, L. K. & *Doumit, R. (2020). Sex Differences on Quality of Life and Mental Health Outcomes when Using a Brief Cognitive‐Behavioral Skill Building Intervention with Adolescent Syrian Refugees: A Secondary Analysis. Published in Community Mental Health Journal.  DOI: 10.1007/s10597-019-00453-1.

*Doumit, R., Kazandjian, C, & Militello, L. K. (November 2018). COPE for Adolescent Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: A Brief Cognitive‐Behavioral Skill Building Intervention to Improve Quality of Life and Promote Positive Mental Health. Published in Clinical Nursing Research. DOI: 10.1177/1054773818808114.