App-based Psychosocial Intervention to Enhance Quality of Life in Arabic-speaking Refugees Residing in Switzerland

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Depression; PTSD; Stigma, Social; Anxiety; Quality of Life
• Interventions: Behavioral: Sui App (SRK)

• Registration Number: NCT05651737
• Lead Sponsor: University of Bern

Brief Summary

The ongoing warfare and economic instability in the Middle East and in North Africa causes many people to leave their home countries. Arrived in a host countries, in this example, in Switzerland, they face a lot of structural and psychosocial hurdles. Particularly in the first years, building up a certain quality of life is complicated and challenging. To support this process, the Swiss Red Cross and the University of Bern have developed the Sui app. It contains structural and social information as well as low-intensity psychological tools to provide support to the everyday life of Arabic-speaking people in Switzerland.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-10-21
• Study First Submitted: 2022-12-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-12-07
• Study First Posted: 2022-12-15
• Primary Completion: 2024-03-27
• Study Completion: 2024-03-27
• Status Verified: 2024-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-05-07
• Last Update Posted: 2024-05-08

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 170

Inclusion Criteria

• At least 18 years old
• Arabic as native or second language
• Good knowledge of reading, writing and speaking Arabic
• Have lived in Switzerland for no longer than 5 years
• Give written consent
• Have access to a smartphone and an internet connection
• Indicate an emergency contact whom they could contact in event of a crisis

Exclusion Criteria

• Indicate an increased risk of self-harm or suicide at baseline
• Indicate having been diagnosed with psychosis or bipolar disorder
• Be participating in a similar study at baseline
• Have a lack of written and spoken Arabic skills

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Sui App+ (peer guided)	Sui App (SRK)	The active phase of the study is eight weeks per participant with a follow-up online assessment after another eight weeks. One of the active study groups, the Sui App+ condition, receives the Sui app plus a peer who will guide them online. They receive weekly individual messages from their peer within the chat of the app.
Sui App (unguided)	Sui App (SRK)	The active phase of the study is eight weeks per participant with a follow-up online assessment after another eight weeks. The second active study group receives the app as a standalone intervention. They use whatever content they are interested in and receive weekly push-notifications in case they were not active.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Well-being at baseline	Baseline	Measured by the WHO Quality of Life Short Version (WHOQOL-BREF, 4 domain scores, mean score multiplied by 4, 0 (low) to 100 (high) range)
Well-being at follow-up timepoint	Follow-Up (after 16 weeks)	Measured by the WHO Quality of Life Short Version (WHOQOL-BREF, 4 domain scores, mean score multiplied by 4, 0 (low) to100 (high) range)
Well-being at post-intervention timepoint	Post (after 8 weeks)	Measured by the WHO Quality of Life Short Version (WHOQOL-BREF, 4 domain scores, mean score multiplied by 4, 0 (low) to 100 (high) range)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Depressive symptoms	Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks)	Measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9, 0 (no suspicion of) to 27 (suspicion of severe) depression range)
Satisfaction with the treatment	Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks)	Measured by the Questionnaire on satisfaction with the treatment (ZUF-8, 1(low) to 4 (high) scores) adapted for "app" as intervention
Self-stigma	Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks)	Measured by the Self-stigma of mental illness scale short form (SSMIS-SF, 1(strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree) scores)
PTSD symptoms	Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks)	Measured by the Post traumatic stress disorder checklist scale according to DSM-5 (PCL-5, 0 (not at all) to 80 (extremely) range)
Somatic symptoms	Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks)	Measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 15 (PHQ-15, 0 (normal) to 30 (severe) symptom range )
Anxiety symptoms	Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks)	Measured by the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7, 0 (minimal) to 21 (severe) symptom range)
Post migration stressors	Baseline, Post (after 8 weeks), Follow-Up (after 16 weeks)	Measured by the Post-migratory life difficulties Checklist (PMLD-CL, 0 (no) to 4 (very serious) post migration problem scores)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Bern; 🇨🇭 Bern, BE, Switzerland