Evidence
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This library hosts materials developed by Switchboard and by former Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)-funded technical assistance (TA) providers (most in fiscal years 2016-2018, with selected earlier materials). This library links materials externally where: their formats were incompatible with internal hosting; they were developed by current ORR-funded TA providers; or they were developed by non-ORR funded authors who granted permission for the links.
Author Definitions
Free Full TextWhich Employment Strategies Work for Whom? A Meta-Regression
Publication Year: 2017
Outcome(s): Employment attainment
Relevant ORR Program(s): Matching Grant, Preferred Communities, Refugee Career Pathways, Targeted Assistance Grant Discretionary Program, Wilson/Fish
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Strong
Type of Study: Systematic review
This study used the Employment Strategies for Low-Income Adults Evidence Review (ESER) database of 235 high- or moderate-rated studies of 93 interventions testing employment strategies for low-income adults. Most strategies are associated with modest positive effects. The strategies that appear most effective are financial incentives and sanctions, education, work experience, and training. Interventions that combine …
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Free Full TextIntegrating refugees into host country labor markets: Challenges and policy options.
Publication Year: 2016
Outcome(s): Employment attainment
Relevant ORR Program(s): Child Care Microenterprise Development, Home-based Child Care, Microenterprise Development, Preferred Communities, Refugee Career Pathways
Direction of Evidence: Inconclusive or mixed impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence
Helping new arrivals find jobs commensurate with their skills and experienceand with the potential for upward progressioncan have positive effects on other indicators of integration, such as personal well-being and social cohesion. The case for up-front investments in labor market integration policies is especially compelling in countries facing demographic decline and skills shortages. This report …
Integrating refugees into host country labor markets: Challenges and policy options. Read More »
Free Full TextInterventions to Improve the Economic Self-sufficiency and Well-being of Resettled Refugees: A Systematic Review
Publication Year: 2015
Outcome(s): Employment attainment
Relevant ORR Program(s): Matching Grant, Preferred Communities, Refugee Career Pathways, Targeted Assistance Grant Discretionary Program, Wilson/Fish
Direction of Evidence: Inconclusive or mixed impact
Strength of Evidence: Strong
Type of Study: Systematic review
This Campbell systematic review examines the effects of programmes on the economic self-sufficiency and well-being of resettled refugees. The review identified 23 relevant studies but none of these could be included in the analysis due weaknesses in study design. No studies met the inclusion criteria of this review. Twenty-three studies were identified which were not …
Free Full TextSyrian women refugees in Jordan: opportunity in the gig economy
Publication Year: 2017
Outcome(s): Employment attainment
Relevant ORR Program(s): Matching Grant, Preferred Communities, Refugee Career Pathways, Targeted Assistance Grant Discretionary Program, Wilson/Fish
Direction of Evidence: Inconclusive or mixed impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence
The gig economy refers to labour-market activities that are coordinated via mobile platforms, which are increasingly bringing together workers and purchasers of their services locally and globally. Since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011, Jordan’s almost 660,000 registered Syrian refugees account for nearly one in ten people in that country. The ability of …
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Free Full TextTriple Disadvantage? A first overview of the integration of refugee women
Publication Year: 2018
Outcome(s): Employment attainment
Relevant ORR Program(s): Matching Grant, Preferred Communities, Refugee Career Pathways, Targeted Assistance Grant Discretionary Program, Wilson/Fish
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence
45% of refugees in Europe are women, yet little is known on their integration outcomes and the specific challenges they face. This report summarises prior research on the integration of refugee women, both compared with refugee men and other immigrant women. It also provides new comparative evidence from selected European and non-European OECD countries. Refugee …
Triple Disadvantage? A first overview of the integration of refugee women Read More »
Free Full TextRefugee women as entrepreneurs in Australia
Publication Year: 2016
Outcome(s): Employment attainment
Relevant ORR Program(s): Child Care Microenterprise Development, Home-based Child Care, Microenterprise Development, Preferred Communities, Refugee Career Pathways
Direction of Evidence: No impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence
The Stepping Stones to Small Business programme in Australia is appreciated by participants but has shown that entrepreneurship is a problematic concept in the context of women from refugee backgrounds. Starting a small business in Australia is often discussed alongside the risk-taking attributes of entrepreneurs. This characterisation casts entrepreneurship as positive and adventurous, with the …
Paid Full TextUnderstanding Immigration Trauma and the Potential of Home Visiting Among Immigrant and Refugee Families
Publication Year: 2019
Outcome area(s): Mental Health
Intervention(s): Trauma-Informed Approaches
Relevant ORR Program(s): Children's Services, Ethnic Community Self-Help Program, Preferred Communities, Refugee Health Promotion, Refugee Support Services
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Moderate
Type of Study: Impact evaluation
This article examines the outcomes of implementing a trauma-informed home visiting program in a refugee/immigrant serving mental health program in Chicago, Illinois. The mental health program used the Baby TALK home visiting program model, an evidence-based relational approach to supporting pregnant mothers and families with children less than 3 years old. The authors share findings …
Free Full TextRandomized Controlled Trial of a Multilevel Intervention to Address Social Determinants of Refugee Mental Health
Publication Year: 2020
Outcome area(s): Mental Health
Intervention(s): Strengths-Based Approaches
Relevant ORR Program(s): Ethnic Community Self-Help Program, Preferred Communities, Refugee Health Promotion, Refugee Support Services
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Moderate
Type of Study: Impact evaluation
Understanding processes that support the well-being of the unprecedented numbers of forcibly displaced people throughout the world is essential. Growing evidence documents post-migration stressors related to marginalization as key social determinants of refugee mental health. The goal of this RCT was to rigorously test a social justice approach to reducing high rates of distress among …
Free Full TextHealth Realization Community Coping Intervention for Somali Refugee Women
Publication Year: 2019
Outcome area(s): Mental Health
Intervention(s): Strengths-Based Approaches
Relevant ORR Program(s): Ethnic Community Self-Help Program, Preferred Communities, Refugee Health Promotion, Refugee Support Services
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Impact evaluation
Health Realization (HR) is a strengths-based stress and coping intervention used to promote the use of internal and external coping resources. Our three-arm comparison group trial examined the effects of a culturally adapted Somali HR intervention on coping and mental health outcomes in 65 Somali refugee women post-resettlement. Subjects participated one of three conditions: HR …
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Paid Full TextBuilding Resilience in Transcultural Adolescents: An Evaluation of a Group Program
Publication Year: 2019
Outcome area(s): Mental Health
Intervention(s): Mental health and psychosocial support services, Strengths-Based Approaches
Relevant ORR Program(s): Ethnic Community Self-Help Program, Preferred Communities, Refugee Health Promotion, Refugee Support Services, Youth Mentoring
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence
This study investigates the effectiveness of Building Resilience in Transcultural Australians (BRiTA Futures) for Adolescents, a strengths-based group intervention developed to build the resilience of culturally and linguistically diverse adolescents who experience acculturation in the context of their migration and resettlement journey. The study examined the effectiveness of the intervention using qualitative and quantitative procedures. …
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