Citation

Reed DE, Patel SG, Bagheri-Pele T, Dailami M, Kapoor-Pabrai M, Husic A, Kohli S, Wickham RE, Brown LM. J. Immigr. Minor. Health 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10903-022-01439-0

PMID

36607594

Abstract

Forced migrants suffer from significant psychological distress. However, they often prioritize urgent practical resettlement needs over mental health needs. The present study used a quasi-experimental design to compare pathways of treatment for survivors of torture (N = 369) from 42 different counties receiving care from a refugee health clinic. Random intercept ANOVAs were used to compare combined case management services and psychological treatment (CM-PT) to case management services only (CM) on changes in cultural adaptation and global functioning over time.

RESULTS showed that both groups improved on each outcome. Importantly, the CM-PT group endorsed greater improvements in cultural adaptation (b = 0.28, 95% CI 0.14, 0.41, p ≤ 0.001) and global functioning (b = 3.29, 95% CI 1.33, 5.25, p = 0.001) compared to the CM group. These findings suggest that treatment for survivors of torture should be multifaceted and include case management and psychological treatment. Case management services alone may be beneficial when socio-cultural and resource barriers exist for mental health treatment.

Language: en

Keywords

Immigration; Cultural adaptation; Global functioning; Refugees; Survivors of torture