NCT03796065

Addressing Mental Health Disparities in Refugee Children

Addressing Mental Health Disparities in Refugee Children Through Family and Community-based Prevention: A CBPR Collaboration and Hybrid Implementation Effectiveness Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 354 (actual)
• Sponsor: Boston College · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 7 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The proposed study will employ a cross-cultural Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach to build from prior needs assessments and mixed-methods research to evaluate the effectiveness of the Family Strengthening Intervention for Refugees (FSI-R), a preventative family home-based visiting intervention intended to mitigate mental health disparities among refugee children and families using a hybrid implementation-effectiveness design. Results of the investigator's trial will expand the evidence-base on community-based interventions for refugees and has the potential to be replicated to reduce mental health disparities affecting diverse groups of refugee children and families.

Detailed description

Using a CBPR approach, a family based prevention model, the Family Strengthening Intervention for Refugees (FSI-R) was adapted from a tested model used in Africa and designed for delivery by refugee community health workers with through a process involving stakeholder consultation and local refugee Community Advisory Board input. Pilot data on the FSI-R demonstrates strong feasibility and acceptability, but further data are needed on effectiveness as well as barriers and facilitators to implementation by community health workers embedded in refugee-serving social services agencies. Specific aims are to (1) examine the impact of a family-based preventive intervention on outcomes of parent-child relationships, family functioning, and child mental health using a Hybrid Type 2 Effectiveness-Implementation Design (families with children aged 7-17 in a two-arm randomized controlled trial); (2) identify barriers and facilitators to implementation of the FSI-R by community health workers by conducting a process evaluation concurrent with the delivery of the intervention; and (3) strengthen the science of community engagement to address health disparities by fortifying CBPR-based pathways of change via collaborative partnerships between refugee communities, service providers, and academic stakeholders.

Conditions

• Family Research

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	FSI-R Treatment	The FSI-R involves a series of separate and joint meetings with parents and children to discuss challenges the family has faced and the strengths that helped them make it through past challenging times. Additional psychoeducation on mental health and promoting resilience along with coaching to enhance parenting skills is provided throughout and may be tailored to family needs. The FSI-R provides a shared space for refugee families both to recognize their strengths and to problem-solve in a more collective way on family challenges and shared hopes for the future. The FSI-R is delivered in the home, by a trained interventionist, over the course of 10-modules.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-08-27
• Primary completion: 2022-06-30
• Completion: 2022-06-30
• First posted: 2019-01-08
• Last updated: 2023-02-08

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States