What works to improve mental health of refugee children and adults?
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Evidence Summary
June 2020
There is strong evidence that several interventions are effective in improving the mental health of child and adult refugees. Specifically, culturally adapted cognitive behavioral therapy (CA-CBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and narrative exposure therapy (NET) improve refugees’ anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and/or general symptoms of distress. Among refugee children, school-based programs, parenting classes, and high-support living environments for unaccompanied minors have been shown to improve children’s mental health. Research suggests that individual psychotherapy delivered in the client’s native language, the language of the resettlement country, or via an interpreter are all equally effective. Over twenty additional interventions for refugee adults and children have inconclusive effects or moderate support, thus warranting further research. Finally, digital technologies including telehealth, online interventions, and video games show promising results for increasing access to care as well as improving outcomes.
Studies included in the database focused on high-income or upper middle-income countries, including but not limited to the United States. Studies included must have been published since 2000. To identify evidence related to emergency preparedness among refugees, we searched the following websites and databases using the following population, methodology, and target problem terms:
Websites and Databases | Population Terms | Methodology Terms | Target Problem Terms |
Campbell Collaboration Cochrane Collaboration Mathematica Policy Research Evidence AidUrban Institute Migration Policy Institute HHS OPRE ASSIA Social Services Abstracts Social Work Abstracts PsycInfo CINAHL PILOTS |
refugee OR immigrant OR “unaccompanied minor” ORasylee OR “temporary protected status” OR “victims of traffick*” OR “traffick* victims ”OR T-Visa OR U-Visa OR Cuban OR Haitian OR Amerasian |
evaluation OR impact OR program OR intervention OR policy OR project OR train* OR therapy OR treatment OR counseling OR workshop OR review OR meta-analysis OR synthesis |
“mental health” OR depression OR anxiety OR “post-traumatic stress disorder” OR PTSD |
For databases or websites that permitted only basic searches, free-text terms and limited term combinations were selected out of the lists above, and all resultant studies were reviewed for relevance. Conversely, for databases or websites with advanced search capability, we made use of relevant filters available. All search terms were searched in the title and abstract fields only in order to exclude studies that made only passing mention of the topic under consideration.
After initial screening, Switchboard evidence mapping is prioritized as follows: First priority is given to meta-analyses and systematic reviews, followed by individual impact evaluations when no meta-analyses or systematic reviews are available. Evaluations that are rated as impact evidence are considered before those rated as suggestive, with the latter only being included for outcomes where no evidence is available from the former.