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. 2023 Jan;51(1):361-381.
doi: 10.1002/jcop.22908. Epub 2022 Jun 14.

What works? Lessons from a pretrial qualitative study to inform a multi-component intervention for refugees and asylum seekers: Learning Through Play and EMDR Group Traumatic Episode Protocol

Safa Kemal Kaptan  1 , Betul Yilmaz  1 , Filippo Varese  1   2 , Panoraia Andriopoulou  3 , Nusrat Husain  1
Affiliations

What works? Lessons from a pretrial qualitative study to inform a multi-component intervention for refugees and asylum seekers: Learning Through Play and EMDR Group Traumatic Episode Protocol

Safa Kemal Kaptan et al. J Community Psychol. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Almost half of the trials failed to recruit their targeted sample size of which 89% could be preventable. Successful implementation of mental health trials in a context of forcibly displaced individuals can be even more challenging. Mental health difficulties have the potential to impact parenting skills, which are linked to poor development in children, while parenting interventions can improve parents' mental health and parenting behaviors. However, the evidence on parenting interventions for refugees is limited. A parenting intervention, Learning Through Play Plus Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Group Treatment Protocol, has been designed to address parental mental health. This pretrial qualitative study, conducted with refugees, asylum seekers and professionals, aimed to explore their perceptions of the intervention and to identify barriers and recommendations for better engagement, recruitment, and delivery. Three themes were generated from thematic analysis: the content of the intervention, suggestions for improvement and implementation, and understanding the role of the facilitator. These themes provided insights into the issues that might predict the barriers for delivery of the intervention and offered several changes, including destigmatization strategies to improve engagement.

Keywords: EMDR G-TEP; asylum seekers; intervention; mental health; parenting; pretrial; refugees.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Thematic map. LTP, Learning Through Play.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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