%0 Meta-Analysis
%T Self-Help Plus for refugees and asylum seekers: an individual participant data meta-analysis.
%A Karyotaki E
%A Sijbrandij M
%A Purgato M
%A Acarturk C
%A Lakin D
%A Bailey D
%A Peckham E
%A Uygun E
%A Tedeschi F
%A Wancata J
%A Augustinavicius J
%A Carswell K
%A Välimäki M
%A van Ommeren M
%A Koesters M
%A Popa M
%A Leku MR
%A Anttila M
%A Churchill R
%A White RG
%A Al-Hashimi S
%A Lantta T
%A Au T
%A Klein T
%A Tol WA
%A Cuijpers P
%A Barbui C
%J BMJ Ment Health
%V 26
%N 1
%D 2023 Jul
%M 37524517
暂无%R 10.1136/bmjment-2023-300672
%X OBJECTIVE: 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.
METHODS: 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).
RESULTS: 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.