Improve Mental Health (Improve-MH) in refugee families using a culturally adapted, general practitioner-delivered psychotherapeutic intervention combined with Triple P Online parenting programme: study protocol of a multicentre randomised controlled trial

Bibliographic Details
Title: Improve Mental Health (Improve-MH) in refugee families using a culturally adapted, general practitioner-delivered psychotherapeutic intervention combined with Triple P Online parenting programme: study protocol of a multicentre randomised controlled trial
Authors: Hans-Helmut König, Robert Kumsta, Christian Brettschneider, Andreas Sönnichsen, Jochen Gensichen, Silvia Schneider, Karoline Lukaschek, Jürgen in der Schmitten, Horst Christian Vollmar, Karim Zagha, Kerstin Konietzny, Omar Chehadi, Angela Chehadi-Köster, Nino Chikhradze, Nesreen Dababneh, Flora-Marie Hegerath, Lisa Heller, Alessia Dehnen, Martina Hessbruegge, Julia Krasko, Maike Luhmann, Juergen Margraf, Verena Pflug, David Roesgen
Source: BMJ Open, Vol 14, Iss 9 (2024)
Publisher Information: BMJ Publishing Group, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Medicine
Subject Terms: Medicine
More Details: Introduction Germany and the European Union have experienced successive waves of refugees since 2014, resulting in over 1.6 million arrivals, including families with young children. These vulnerable populations often face xenophobia, discrimination, substandard living conditions and limited healthcare access, contributing to a high prevalence of mental health problems (MHP). Our primary goal is to proactively address MHP in refugee parents and prevent its potential impact on their children through effective early interventions. Using a low-threshold, primary care-based approach, we aim to enhance parenting skills and address parental psychopathology, creating a supportive environment for parents and children.Methods and analysis In this randomised controlled trial, 188 refugee parents of 6-year-old children or younger who meet the clinical cut-off on the MHP scale will participate. They are randomly assigned to either the experimental psychotherapeutic intervention, delivered by general practitioners (10-week Improve intervention), or treatment as usual, in a ratio of 1:1. The randomisation will be masked only for outcome assessors. Improve includes face-to-face sessions with general practitioners, an interactive online parenting programme (Triple P Online) and regular protocol-based telephone calls by psychologists. Primary outcomes will assess the intervention’s effects on parental and child MHP and parenting skills, with secondary outcomes including psychosocial and physical health indicators. Outcomes will be assessed at pre, post and at 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. The study is scheduled to run from February 2019 to July 2025.Ethics and dissemination The project Improve-MH (application number 602) was approved by the local ethics committee of Ruhr-University of Bochum and is being conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The study is also conducted in full accordance with the German Data Protection Act, and the Good Clinical Practice guideline (GCP) and is sensitive to specific ethical considerations. Results will be disseminated at scientific conferences, published in peer-reviewed journals and provided to consumers of healthcare.Trial registration number The trial was prospectively registered at the German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien, DRKS-ID: DRKS00019072) on 16 March 2020.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2044-6055
Relation: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/9/e084080.full; https://doaj.org/toc/2044-6055
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-084080
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/d29cc13de6814181a7acdb4add087370
Accession Number: edsdoj.29cc13de6814181a7acdb4add087370
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:20446055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-084080
Published in:BMJ Open
Language:English