Supported Employment for Refugees

NCT03629366 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 811270
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 66
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Humanitarian crises related to the Syrian conflict have led to a large increase in refugees in Europe in the recent years. There is need for effective approaches to increase labor market participation among refugees, and to reduce the impact of unfavorable exclusion mechanisms among this group. The Supported Employment for Refugees (the SER-trial) is a randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of Supported Employment (SE) for newly arrived refugees who are involved in the mandatory introduction program provided for all refugees in Norway. SE is an intervention that has proved effective in promoting competitive employment among patients with severe mental illness in over twenty international randomized controlled trials, and is currently being evaluated for various new patient groups in ongoing trials. The SER-trial is however the first trial to evaluate the effect of SE for the target group of refugees (who may or may not have mental illness).

Conditions

Refugees

Keywords

Refugees; Supported Employment; Individual Placement and Support; Employment; Vocational Rehabilitation; Mental Health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Competitive employment (register data and log books)

  Competitive employment will be assessed using register data from the State Register of Employers and Employees. Analyses will be carried out using both intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses. For per protocol analyses, log books from the service providers in the intervention group will be used.

  12 months

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Acculturation (survey data)

  12 months

• Psychological distress (survey data)

  12 months

• Posttraumatic stress (survey data)

  12 months

• Global well-being (survey data)

  12 months

• Health-related quality of life (survey data)

  12 months

Study Arms (2)

Supported Employment (SE)

EXPERIMENTAL

Follow-up with Supported Employment (SE), provided by a job specialist trained in the eight evidence-based principles of Individual Placement and Support (IPS). The SE intervention is provided in addition to the mandatory introduction program for refugees in Norway (treatment as usual).

Behavioral: Supported Employment (SE)

Treatment as usual (TAU)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Follow-up with treatment as usual, which involves participation in the mandatory introduction program provided for all refugees in Norway. The program includes training in Norwegian language and culture, as well as the various traditional employment schemes offered by the Norwegian labor and welfare Administration.

Behavioral: Treatment as usual (TAU)

Interventions

Supported Employment (SE) BEHAVIORAL

Supported Employment

Supported Employment (SE)

Treatment as usual (TAU) BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as usual

Treatment as usual (TAU)

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Refugees in the city of Bergen, Norway
• Expressed desire to work
• Able to have a simple conversation in Norwegian or English

You may not qualify if:

• No expressed desire to work
• Unable to have a simple conversation in Norwegian or English

Sponsors & Collaborators

• NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS: lead
• Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

NORCE Norwegian Research Centre

Bergen, 5020, Norway

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Interventions

Employment, Supported; Therapeutics

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Employment; Socioeconomic Factors; Population Characteristics; Rehabilitation, Vocational; Rehabilitation; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services

Study Officials

• Vigdis Sveinsdottir, PhD

  NORCE Norwegian Research Centre

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Tonje Fyhn

  NORCE Norwegian Research Centre

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 9, 2018
• First Posted: August 14, 2018
• Study Start: May 1, 2017
• Primary Completion: April 30, 2020
• Study Completion: May 30, 2020
• Last Updated: September 16, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

NO (1)