Effectiveness of psychosocial school interventions in Finnish schools for refugee and immigrant children, "Refugees Well School" in Finland (RWS-FI): a protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health among the Population in Jordan

BACKGROUND

Mental health is a key indicator for public health measures. Jordan is one of the countries that has a high prevalence of mental illness and disorders. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all health services in the country with a high refugee population. The aim of this review is to assess the impact of the pandemic on mental health in Jordan and identify key factors affecting it, in addition to addressing lessons learned from the pandemic.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted on Medline Plus, Embase, Web of Science, EBSCOHost Psycinfo and Cinhal, following the PRISMA guidelines. Articles were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted and synthesized using narrative descriptive analysis.

RESULTS

The pandemic had a significant impact on PTSD, psychological distress, anxiety, depression and stress. Predictors of a higher impact on mental health were related to gender, socio-economic status and comorbidities. The healthcare workers group was the most affected by mental disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on mental health was associated with high levels of PTSD, anxiety, depression and stress. In a country with a high prevalence of mental disorders, prompt and quick measures are needed to support the health system to absorb the effect of the pandemic and be responsive to dealing with the existing high prevalence.

School-based Psychosocial interventions on mental health among Chinese rural children with traumatic experiences: a protocol using cluster randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The first aim of this study is to test the effectiveness of school-based psychosocial interventions for improving mental health in rural Chinese children with traumatic experiences. The second aim is to examine which individual, family and school related factors could explain the effectiveness of school-based psychosocial interventions. Third, we will investigate whether individual, family, and school related conditions play a moderator role on the effectiveness of school-based psychosocial interventions.

METHODS

This study will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) in a large sample of Chinese rural children. Four rural counties in Shandong (Central China), Henan (Central China), Inner Mongolia (Northern China), and Xinjiang (Western China) will be selected as study settings from which schools will be sampled. Each sampled school will be randomly allocated either the intervention groups or a control group. Randomization will be performed by the research member who is not involved in the intervention stage. In each school students in grade 5 or higher will be recruited to ensure that approximately 50 children aged 10 to 18 years will be included. In each county, one high school, one middle school, and one primary school will be randomly chosen as the intervention group, and the other three similar schools will be chosen as control (waiting list) groups. A standardized and uniform research protocol will be applied in all intervention schools. All school social workers and psychological teachers would receive one week of in-person training following procedures. School-based psychosocial interventions included 14 group sessions for 14 consecutive weeks.

DISCUSSION

This study would develop school-based mental health promotion policy recommendations to improve Chinese rural children's mental health. This study can provide solid evidence for the promotion of school-based intervention in general.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR2300069405, Registered on 15 March 2023.

Effectiveness of Promotive and Preventive Psychosocial Interventions on Improving the Mental Health of Finnish-Born and Immigrant Adolescents

Background: Schools are considered natural environments in which to enhance students’ social–emotional skills and mental health in general, but they can be especially important for students with refugee and immigrant backgrounds. The current study tested the effectiveness of two school-based interventions in enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents of native, refugee, and immigrant backgrounds. It further analyzed the role of age, gender, daily stressors, and discrimination in affecting the interventions’ effectiveness. Methods: A three-arm cluster RCT with parallel assignment was applied among the 16 schools. Schools were randomized to three conditions of two active interventions and a waiting-list control condition. Students (n = 1974) filled in an online questionnaire at baseline before the interventions, after the interventions, and at follow-up an average of 9 months after the interventions. The effectiveness criteria were internalizing and externalizing problems, resilience, and prosocial behavior. Results: Interventions were generally not effective in decreasing mental health problems and increasing psychosocial resources. The expected positive intervention effects were dependent on students’ age and gender and exposure to socioeconomic daily stressors. Conclusion: Interventions enhancing teacher awareness and peer relationships at school should be carefully tailored according to the strengths and vulnerabilities of participating students, especially their daily stress exposure, but also age and gender.