Abstract

Background: Refugee youth experience hardships associated with exposure to trauma in their homelands and during and after displacement, which results in higher rates of common mental disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed Problem Management Plus (PM+), a non-specialist-delivered brief psychological intervention, for individuals who have faced adversity. PM+ comprises problem-solving, stress management, behavioural activation and strengthening social support. However, it does not include an emotional processing component, which is indicated in trauma-exposed populations.

Objective: This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of PM+, adapted to Syrian, Eritrean and Iraqi refugee youth residing in the Netherlands, with and without a newly developed Emotional Processing (EP) Module.

Methods: Refugee youth (N = 90) between 16 and 25 years of age will be randomized into PM+ with care-as-usual (CAU), (n = 30), PM+ with Emotional Processing (PM+EP) with CAU (n = 30) or CAU only (n = 30). Inclusion criteria are self-reported psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; K10 > 15) and impaired daily functioning (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule; WHODAS 2.0 > 16). Participants will be assessed at baseline, one-week post-intervention and three-month follow-up. The main outcome is the feasibility and acceptability of the adapted PM+ and PM+EP. The secondary outcomes are self-reported psychological distress, functional impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and diagnosis, social support, and self-identified problems. The pilot RCT will be succeeded by a process evaluation including trial participants, participants’ significant others, helpers, and mental health professionals (n = 20) to evaluate their experiences with the PM+ and PM+EP programmes.

Results and Conclusion: This is the first study that evaluates the feasibility of PM+ for this age range with an emotional processing module integrated. The results may inform larger RCTs and implementation of PM+ interventions among refugee youth.

Trial Registration: Registered to Dutch Trial Registry, NL8750, on 3 July 2020. Medical Ethical Committee of the Amsterdam University Medical Centre, location Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Protocol ID: 2020.224, 1 July 2020.

Details

Title
Feasibility and acceptability of Problem Management Plus with Emotional Processing (PM+EP) for refugee youth living in the Netherlands: study protocol
Author
Sever, Cansu Alozkan 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cuijpers, Pim 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mittendorfer-Rutz, Ellenor 2 ; Bryant, Richard A 3 ; Dawson, Katie S 3 ; Holmes, Emily A 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mooren, Trudy 5 ; Norredam, Marie Louise 6 ; Sijbrandij, Marit 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  Department of Clinical, Neuro-, and Developmental Psychology and WHO Collaborating Center for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
2  Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden 
3  School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 
4  Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden 
5  Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands 
6  Danish Research Centre for Migration, Ethnicity and Health, Section for Health Services Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd.
e-ISSN
20008066
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1947003
ProQuest document ID
2691935566
Copyright
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons  Attribution – Non-Commercial License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.