Feasibility and acceptability of phone-delivered psychological therapy for refugee children and adolescents in a humanitarian setting

Background Refugee children are at high risk of mental health problems but face barriers to accessing mental health services, a problem exacerbated by a shortage of mental health professionals. Having trained lay counsellors deliver therapy via telephone could overcome these barriers. This is the fi...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

Background Refugee children are at high risk of mental health problems but face barriers to accessing mental health services, a problem exacerbated by a shortage of mental health professionals. Having trained lay counsellors deliver therapy via telephone could overcome these barriers. This is the first study to explore feasibility and acceptability of telephone-delivered therapy with refugee children in a humanitarian setting. Methods An evidence-based intervention, Common Elements Treatment Approach, was adapted for telephone-delivery (t-CETA) and delivered by lay counsellors to Syrian refugee children in informal tented settlements in the Beqaa region of Lebanon. Following delivery of t-CETA, semi-structured interviews were conducted with counsellors (N = 3) and with children who received t-CETA (N = 11, 45% female, age 8–17 years) and their caregivers (N = 11, 100% female, age 29–56 years) (N = 25 interviews). Thematic content analysis was conducted separately for interviews with counsellors and interviews with families and results were synthesized. Results Three themes emerged from interviews with counsellors and four themes from interviews with families, with substantial overlap between them. Synthesized themes were: counselling over the phone both solves and creates practical and logistical challenges; t-CETA is adapted to potential cultural blocks; the relationship between the counsellor and the child and caregiver is extremely important; the family’s attitude to mental health influences their understanding of and engagement with counselling; and t-CETA works and is needed. Counselling over the phone overcame logistical barriers, such as poor transportation, and cultural barriers, such as stigma associated with attending mental health services. It provided a more flexible and accessible service and resulted in reductions in symptoms for many children. Challenges included access to phones and poor network coverage, finding an appropriate space, and communication challenges over the phone. Conclusions Despite some challenges, telephone-delivered therapy for children shows promising evidence of feasibility and acceptability in a humanitarian context and has the potential to increase access to mental health services by hard-to-reach populations. Approaches to addressing challenges of telephone-delivered therapy are discussed. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03887312; registered 22nd March 2019. Ausführliche Beschreibung

Autor*in:	McEwen, Fiona S. [verfasserIn] El Khatib, Hania Hadfield, Kristin Pluess, Karen Chehade, Nicolas Bosqui, Tania Skavenski, Stephanie Murray, Laura Weierstall-Pust, Roland Karam, Elie Pluess, Michael

Format:	E-Artikel
Sprache:	Englisch

Erschienen:	2024

Schlagwörter:	Telepsychiatry Telephone Children and adolescents Refugees Feasibility and acceptability Lay counsellors

Anmerkung:	© The Author(s) 2024

Übergeordnetes Werk:	Enthalten in: Conflict and health - London : BioMed Central, 2007, 18(2024), 1 vom: 13. Jan.
Übergeordnetes Werk:	volume:18 ; year:2024 ; number:1 ; day:13 ; month:01

Links:	Volltext

DOI / URN:	10.1186/s13031-023-00565-2

Katalog-ID:	SPR054384907