Tell Your Story: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Online intervention to Reduce Mental Health Stigma and Increase Help-Seeking in Refugee Men with Posttraumatic Stress

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Abstract

Refugees report elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but are relatively unlikely to seek help for their symptoms. Mental health stigma is a key barrier to help-seeking amongst refugees. We evaluated the efficacy of an online intervention in reducing self-stigma and increasing help-seeking in refugee men. Participants were 103 refugee men with PTSD symptoms from Arabic, Farsi or Tamil-speaking backgrounds who were randomly assigned to either receive an 11-module online stigma reduction intervention specifically designed for refugees (“Tell Your Story”, TYS) or to a wait-list control (WLC) group. This is the first investigation of a mental health stigma reduction program specifically designed for refugees. Findings suggest that evidence-based stigma reduction strategies are beneficial in targeting self-stigma related to help-seeking and increasing help-seeking amongst refugees. These results indicate that online interventions focusing on social contact may be a promising avenue for removing barriers to accessing help for mental health symptoms in traumatized refugees.

Citation

Relevant Evidence Summaries

The evidence was reviewed and included in the following summaries: 

What works to improve mental health of refugee children and adults?

There is very strong evidence that numerous interventions are effective in improving the mental health of child and adult refugees. Specifically, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma-focused interventions (TF), and psycho-education (PE) have been shown to improve symptoms related to anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and/or general distress in refugee populations. Furthermore, cultural adaptations of these…

About this study

AGE: Adults

DIRECTION OF EVIDENCE: Positive impact

FULL TEXT AVAILABILITY: Free

HOST COUNTRY: Australia

HOST COUNTRY INCOME: High Income

INTERVENTION DURATION: 11 online sessions

INTERVENTION: Mental health and psychosocial support services

OUTCOME AREA: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Reduction

REGION OF ORIGIN OF PARTICIPANT(S): Multiple Regions

STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE: Moderate

TYPE OF STUDY: Impact evaluation

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2020

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