Welcome, how are you doing? - towards a systematic mental health screening and crisis management for newly arriving refugees

TY - JOUR

T1 - Welcome, how are you doing? - towards a systematic mental health screening and crisis management for newly arriving refugees

AU - Schmidt, Telja Lucia

AU - Catani, Claudia

AU - Dumke, Lars

AU - Groß, Melissa

AU - Neldner, Sina

AU - Scharpf, Florian

AU - Weitkämper, Angelina

AU - Wilker, Sarah

AU - Wittmann, Jasmin

AU - Stammnitz, Anke

AU - van den Heuvel, Rick

AU - Neuner, Frank

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Background: Compared to the general German population, refugees in Germany are a high-risk group for trauma spectrum disorders. Currently, many barriers exist for the implementation of a screen-and-treat approach for mental disorders as part of the routine health care provision during the early stage of the immigration process.Objective: The aim of the present study was to develop and test a systematic screening approach to identify individual refugees in need of mental health care during the initial immigration phase.Method: 167 newly arrived refugees underwent a screening interview with the Refugee Health Screener (RHS) carried out by Intercultural Therapy Assistants (ITAs). The ITAs were super-vised by psychologists at a reception centre in Bielefeld, Germany. A subsample of 48 persons partici-pated in clinical validation interviews.Results: Findings demonstrated the need for and feasibility of a systematic screening during the initial immigration phase. However, established cut-off values of the RHS had to be adapted and the screening procedure had to be adjusted due to the needs of a significant number of refugees in severe psychological crises.Conclusion: A systematic screening that is applied shortly after arrival facilitates the early identification of refugees at risk of developing mental disorders and may be helpful to prevent chronic symptom development and an aggravation of psychological crises.

AB - Background: Compared to the general German population, refugees in Germany are a high-risk group for trauma spectrum disorders. Currently, many barriers exist for the implementation of a screen-and-treat approach for mental disorders as part of the routine health care provision during the early stage of the immigration process.Objective: The aim of the present study was to develop and test a systematic screening approach to identify individual refugees in need of mental health care during the initial immigration phase.Method: 167 newly arrived refugees underwent a screening interview with the Refugee Health Screener (RHS) carried out by Intercultural Therapy Assistants (ITAs). The ITAs were super-vised by psychologists at a reception centre in Bielefeld, Germany. A subsample of 48 persons partici-pated in clinical validation interviews.Results: Findings demonstrated the need for and feasibility of a systematic screening during the initial immigration phase. However, established cut-off values of the RHS had to be adapted and the screening procedure had to be adjusted due to the needs of a significant number of refugees in severe psychological crises.Conclusion: A systematic screening that is applied shortly after arrival facilitates the early identification of refugees at risk of developing mental disorders and may be helpful to prevent chronic symptom development and an aggravation of psychological crises.

KW - Humans

KW - Mental Health

KW - Refugees/psychology

KW - Mental Disorders/diagnosis

KW - Mass Screening

KW - Germany/epidemiology

U2 - 10.1080/20008066.2023.2202053

DO - 10.1080/20008066.2023.2202053

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 37097725

VL - 14

SP - 2202053

JO - EUR J PSYCHOTRAUMATO

JF - EUR J PSYCHOTRAUMATO

SN - 2000-8198

IS - 2

ER -