Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Quality of Life, Stigma, Social
Conditions
Brief summary
The ongoing warfare and economic instability in the Middle East and in North Africa causes many people to leave their home countries. Arrived in a host countries, in this example, in Switzerland, they face a lot of structural and psychosocial hurdles. Particularly in the first years, building up a certain quality of life is complicated and challenging. To support this process, the Swiss Red Cross and the University of Bern have developed the Sui app. It contains structural and social information as well as low-intensity psychological tools to provide support to the everyday life of Arabic-speaking people in Switzerland.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSui App (SRK)
The Sui app contains the following chapters: 6 well-being chapters on: stress, sleep, resources throughout the day, chronic pain, emotion regulation, audio exercises 9 Swiss-specific information chapters on: housing, health (two sub-chapters), finances, asylum process, residence status, social integration, occupational integration, family reunification
Sponsors
Swiss Transfusion SRC
Freie Universität Berlin
University of Bern
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* At least 18 years old * Arabic as native or second language * Good knowledge of reading, writing and speaking Arabic * Have lived in Switzerland for no longer than 5 years * Give written consent * Have access to a smartphone and an internet connection * Indicate an emergency contact whom they could contact in event of a crisis
Exclusion criteria
* Indicate an increased risk of self-harm or suicide at baseline * Indicate having been diagnosed with psychosis or bipolar disorder * Be participating in a similar study at baseline * Have a lack of written and spoken Arabic skills
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Well-being at baseline | Baseline | Measured by the WHO Quality of Life Short Version (WHOQOL-BREF, 4 domain scores, mean score multiplied by 4, 0 (low) to 100 (high) range) |
| Well-being at post-intervention timepoint | Post (after 8 weeks) | Measured by the WHO Quality of Life Short Version (WHOQOL-BREF, 4 domain scores, mean score multiplied by 4, 0 (low) to 100 (high) range) |
| Well-being at follow-up timepoint | Follow-Up (after 16 weeks) | Measured by the WHO Quality of Life Short Version (WHOQOL-BREF, 4 domain scores, mean score multiplied by 4, 0 (low) to100 (high) range) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Somatic symptoms | Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks) | Measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ-15, 0 (normal) to 30 (severe) symptom range ) |
| Anxiety symptoms | Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks) | Measured by the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7, 0 (minimal) to 21 (severe) symptom range) |
| Satisfaction with the treatment | Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks) | Measured by the Questionnaire on satisfaction with the treatment (ZUF-8, 1(low) to 4 (high) scores) adapted for app as intervention |
| Post migration stressors | Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks) | Measured by the Post-migratory life difficulties Checklist (PMLD-CL, 0 (no) to 4 (very serious) post migration problem scores) |
| Depressive symptoms | Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks) | Measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9, 0 (no suspicion of) to 27 (suspicion of severe) depression range) |
| Self-stigma | Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks) | Measured by the Self-stigma of mental illness scale short form (SSMIS-SF, 1(strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree) scores) |
| PTSD symptoms | Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks) | Measured by the Post traumatic stress disorder checklist scale according to DSM-5 (PCL-5, 0 (not at all) to 80 (extremely) range) |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed