Boosting Refugee Integration Through Psychological Intervention
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age16+
SponsorUniversity of Zurich
About this trial
Refugees and asylum seekers (RAS) face numerous stressors and adversities which put them at risk for developing mental health problems. However, access to adequate mental health care in host countries is limited. To address this problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced Problem Management Plus (PM+), a short, low-intensity psychological intervention administered by non-professionals, aiming to alleviate common mental disorders among crisis-affected communities.
The present study aims at expanding the existing PM+ intervention by providing additional booster sessions and homework reminders while evaluating its effectiveness and implementation in the public health system.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
refugees and asylum seekers (RAS) aged 16 or older;
residing in one of the participating local sites (Swiss municipalities, namely, Gemeinden, and transitional asylum centers, namely, Durchgangszentren) where PM+ is offered and which gave their consent for participation in the RCT;
speaking at least one of the following 12 languages: German, English, French, Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish, Tigrinya, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian, Tamil, and Pashto;
obtaining a score of 20 or higher on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10; Kessler et al., 2002), a brief clinically validated screening questionnaire that assesses general psychological distress in the past 30 days. A score equal to or higher than 20 is used as an indication of moderate to high levels of psychological distress.
Disqualifiers
significant cognitive or neurological impairment measured through specific tools developed by the WHO and integrated into the PM+ manual (impairment questionnaire);
acute medical conditions or severe mental disorders (e.g., psychotic or substance-abuse disorders) measured through specific tools developed by the WHO and integrated into the PM+ manual (impairment questionnaire);
acute risk of suicide as measured by the Suicidal Ideation Attribution Scale (SIDAS; van Spijker et al., 2014) and the Thoughts of Suicide Questionnaire (World Health Organization WHO, 2016).
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Problem Management Plus
Treatment groups
1,200 Participants
are divided into 3 treatment groupsSponsors and collaborators
Source ClinicalTrials.gov