A GP treatment program for patients with mental illness is being investigated. The BMG-funded study (lead: Prof. Dr. Silvia Schneider) combines exercises on personal mental health with those on dealing with one's own children and examines whether parents and children benefit from this. In Munich, we are looking for colleagues to accompany Arabic-speaking families in their practices. We will be able to report results from 2024.
Mental health of refugeespeople
It is usually war and violence that force people to leave their homes. Constantly in their luggage: fear for their own lives or those of their children, family or friends. The experiences before, during and after the flight leave their mark, on the body and on the soul: it is estimated that around 50% of refugees are affected by mental health problems, most commonly depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Early childhood is a particularly vulnerable phase for the development of mental disorders. A significant risk factor for the development of a mental disorder in childhood is the presence of a mental illness in the parents. In addition to the actual stress of flight/war, children under the age of 6 are particularly exposed to "top-down" transmission by their parents.
The aim of the study is to improve the mental health of refugee parents and prevent the development of mental health problems in their children (0-6 years). The core of the study is the 10-week Improve intervention, which is to be compared with standard treatment, i.e. the usual treatment by the general practitioner.
The Improve program consists of three parts:
Four appointments with a GP (duration: 30 min each)to learnhow to deal with symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression;
Online training to promote a positive parenting style (8 sessions, duration: 60 min each)
Accompanying telephone contacts with trained study staff (10 telephone calls, duration: 30 min each)
The success of the treatment isrecorded after the end of treatment and 6 and 12 months after the end of treatment using structured interviews and questionnaires .
The Improve program: four appointments with the doctor (approx. 30 min), online training to promote a positive parenting style (8 sessions, approx. 60 min), 10 accompanying phone calls (max. 30 min). According to: Schneider et al. 2021.
The target group is Arabic-, English- or German-speaking, mentally distressed people with refugee experience (after 01.01.2015 in Germany) and at least 1 child aged 0-6 years.
Who can take part?
General practitioners/family doctors: You have refugees among your patients to whom you want to offer low-threshold help. Prerequisite: Participation in an online training course (with CME recognition), at least 1 year of professional experience. Doctors receive remunerationfor each patient includedin the study !
Refugees: You would like to participate in the study but do not have a family doctor. Prerequisite: Appropriate language skills (English, German, Arabic), experience as a refugee, child (up to 6 years). For participating in the study, you will receive at least €40 and the chance to receive up to €240!
To participate in the study as a GP, please contact Dr. med. David Rösgen or Dr. Karoline Lukaschek (Institute of General Practice Munich) or, if you prefer, Mr. Karim Zagha (Faculty of Psychology Bochum ) in Arabic. You will then receive further information about the study and possible participationas soon as possible .
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