Community-based Socio-therapy Adapted for Refugees: the COSTAR study.

Treating depressive symptomatology in Congolese refugees in Uganda and Rwanda: Adapting and evaluating community-based socio-therapy

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN20474555

Enrollment

640

Registered

2019-03-27

Start date

2019-06-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2023-06-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Depressive symptomatology of Congolese refugees Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

The Adapted Community Based Sociotherapy (aCBS) intervention is delivered in groups of 10 to 15 people living in the same geographic area (e.g. villages in camps). The aCBS intervention does not targe

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Adult <18 years 2. Living in Kyangwali (updated 22/07/2019, previously: Nakivale) settlement, Uganda and Gihembe refugee camp, Rwanda 3. Identify as Congolese refugees 4. Have a self-reported good level of fluency in the languages that aCBS will be delivered in (Kinyarwanda in Rwanda / Kiswahili in Uganda).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Current diagnosis of a complex mental disorder (e.g. psychotic disorders, PTSD, substance dependence) 2. Severe cognitive impairment (e.g. severe intellectual disability, dementia) 3. Actively express suicidal intent Individuals that are excluded because of a diagnosis of a mental disorder or imminent risk of suicide will be referred for urgent local mental health support.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
1. Depressive symptomatology score as measured on the PHQ-937 at 16-weeks (primary endpoint) and 32-weeks (secondary endpoint) compared between the aCBS programme and ECU.	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Self-Reporting Questionnaire for detecting CMDs in primary health care settings. 2. Checklist for Daily Life Stressors (CDES), WHO-5 for wellbeing. 3. WHO Quality of Life BREF, Shortened and Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool, PTSD Check List – Screener (PCL-6) and Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support to measure social connectivity. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, and at 16- (primary outcome)- and 32-weeks (secondary outcome) post-baseline. The Major Depressive Episode module of the MINI will be used at baseline only.	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Self-Reporting Questionnaire for detecting CMDs in primary health care settings. 2. Checklist for Daily Life Stressors (CDES), WHO-5 for wellbeing. 3. WHO Quality of Life BREF, Shortened and Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool, PTSD Check List – Screener (PCL-6) and Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support to measure social connectivity. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, and at 16- (primary outcome)- and 32-weeks (secondary outcome) post-baseline. The Major Depressive Episode module of the MINI will be used at baseline only.

—

Countries

Rwanda, Uganda

Contacts

Public ContactRoss White

r.white@qub.ac.uk+44 (0)28 9097 6566

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 10, 2026