NCT02390778

Reducing Secondary Distress in Violence Researchers: a Randomised Trial of the Effectiveness of Group Debriefings.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 53 (actual)
• Sponsor: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The objectives of the study were: To (1) describe the epidemiology of emotional distress experienced by Ugandan violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study (GSS, NCT01678846) to interview children and adults who experienced violence. Recruited participants were randomly assigned to group debriefings (intervention) or film viewing (control). The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress.

Detailed description

Background: Secondary distress including emotional distress, vicarious trauma (VT) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) due to exposure to primary trauma victims have been described in helping professionals and in violence researchers. To our knowledge, there are few prevalence studies, and no tailored interventions have been tested to reduce secondary distress in violence researchers. Objective: To (1) describe the epidemiology of emotional distress experienced by Ugandan violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors. Methods: An unblinded, individually randomised trial with parallel assignment was conducted. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study (GSS, NCT01678846) to interview children and adults who experienced violence in the district of Luwero, Uganda. 53 researchers agreed to participate and were randomly allocated. The intervention group (n=26) participated in three group debriefings and the control group (n=27) participated in three leisure sessions (film viewing).The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress (SRQ-20); secondary outcomes were levels of VT and STS at end-line.

Conditions

• Emotional Distress

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Group Debriefing	Group Debriefing involves story-telling, identifying emotional responses to these stories, psycho-education and practical information to normalize group member reactions to a distressing event.
BEHAVIORAL	leisure activity (film showing)

Timeline

• Start date: 2014-06-01
• Primary completion: 2014-07-01
• Completion: 2014-07-01
• First posted: 2015-03-18
• Last updated: 2015-03-20