Self-Help Plus for refugees and asylum seekers: an individual participant data meta-analysis

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  • Emily Peckham
  • Eirini Karyotaki
  • Marit Sijbrandij
  • Marianna Purgato
  • Ceren Acarturk
  • Daniel Lakin
  • Della Bailey
  • Ersin Uygun
  • Federico Tedeschi
  • Johannes Wancata
  • Jura Augustinavicius
  • Ken Carswell
  • Maritta Välimäki
  • Mark van Ommeren
  • Markus Kösters
  • Mariana Popa
  • Marx Ronald Leku
  • Minna Anttila
  • Rachel Churchill
  • Ross G. White
  • Sarah Al-Hashimi
  • Tella Lantta
  • Teresa Au
  • Thomas Klein
  • Wietse A Tol
  • Pim Cuijpers
  • Pim Cuijpers

QUESTION: Refugees and asylum seekers are at high risk of mental disorders due to various stressors before, during and after forceful displacement. The WHO Self-Help Plus (SH+) intervention was developed to manage psychological distress and a broad range of mental health symptoms in vulnerable populations. This study aimed to examine the effects and moderators of SH+ compared with Enhanced Care as Usual (ECAU) in reducing depressive symptoms among refugees and asylum seekers.

STUDY SELECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three randomised trials were identified with 1795 individual participant data (IPD). We performed an IPD meta-analysis to estimate the effects of SH+, primarily on depressive symptoms and second on post-traumatic stress, well-being, self-identified problems and functioning. Effects were also estimated at 5-6 months postrandomisation (midterm).

FINDINGS: There was no evidence of a difference between SH+ and ECAU+ in reducing depressive symptoms at postintervention. However, SH+ had significantly larger effects among participants who were not employed (β=1.60, 95% CI 0.20 to 3.00) and had lower mental well-being levels (β=0.02, 95% CI 0.001 to 0.05). At midterm, SH+ was significantly more effective than ECAU in improving depressive symptoms (β=-1.13, 95% CI -1.99 to -0.26), self-identified problems (β=-1.56, 95% CI -2.54 to -0.59) and well-being (β=6.22, 95% CI 1.60 to 10.90).

CONCLUSIONS: Although SH+ did not differ significantly from ECAU in reducing symptoms of depression at postintervention, it did present benefits for particularly vulnerable participants (ie, unemployed and with lower mental well-being levels), and benefits were also evident at midterm follow-up. These results are promising for the use of SH+ in the management of depressive symptoms and improvement of well-being and self-identified problems among refugees and asylum seekers.

Keywords

  • Health Behavior, Humans, Mental Health, Psychological Well-Being, Refugees/psychology, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy
Original languageEnglish
JournalBMJ Mental Health
Volume26
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2023

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