Reducing Secondary Distress in Violence Researchers: a Randomised Trial of the Effectiveness of Group Debriefings.

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Emotional Distress

• Registration Number: NCT02390778
• Lead Sponsor: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Brief Summary

The objectives of the study were: To (1) describe the epidemiology of emotional distress experienced by Ugandan violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study (GSS, NCT01678846) to interview children and adults who experienced violence. Recruited participants were randomly assigned to group debriefings (intervention) or film viewing (control). The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress.

Detailed Description

Background: Secondary distress including emotional distress, vicarious trauma (VT) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) due to exposure to primary trauma victims have been described in helping professionals and in violence researchers. To our knowledge, there are few prevalence studies, and no tailored interventions have been tested to reduce secondary distress in violence researchers.

Objective: To (1) describe the epidemiology of emotional distress experienced by Ugandan violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors.

Methods: An unblinded, individually randomised trial with parallel assignment was conducted. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study (GSS, NCT01678846) to interview children and adults who experienced violence in the district of Luwero, Uganda. 53 researchers agreed to participate and were randomly allocated. The intervention group (n=26) participated in three group debriefings and the control group (n=27) participated in three leisure sessions (film viewing).The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress (SRQ-20); secondary outcomes were levels of VT and STS at end-line.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2014-06
• Primary Completion: 2014-07
• Study Completion: 2014-07
• Status Verified: 2015-03
• Study First Submitted: 2015-03-11
• Study First Submitted QC: 2015-03-17
• Study First Posted: 2015-03-18
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-03-19
• Last Update Posted: 2015-03-20

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 53

Inclusion Criteria

• Eligible participants were all 59 Ugandan researchers who had been employed by the GSS.

Exclusion Criteria

• none

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change from baseline Self-Report Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) score at 5 weeks	5 weeks	The SRQ-20 is a 20 item measure which require simple 'yes' or 'no' responses and was designed as a screening tool for psychological symptoms/emotional distress. It has been widely used and validated in low and middle-income countries as a measure of mental health and wellbeing. The SRQ-20 was modelled as a continuous variable but also a binary variable were the top 33% of the overall distribution was deemed as having a 'high' score indicative of probable emotional distress, consistent with previous research.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS) at 5 weeks	5 weeks	The Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS), an 8 item measure with a 7 point Likert-type scale, has recently been developed and shown to have good psychometric properties for use as a screening tool for vicarious trauma in low resource settings. It is the only publically available screening measure of VT.
Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) at 5 weeks	5 weeks	The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R)consists of 22 items with a 4 point Likert-type scale widely validated and used to screen for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It has been used by several studies to measure STS as the theoretical symptomology is similar.
Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) at 5 weeks	5 weeks	The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) was developed to screen mental health and other professionals who may experience positive or negative impacts as they help others. Versions of the screening tool have good construct validity with over 200 published papers and it is widely used in research as a measure for STS and related constructs.