Status and Predictors of Mental Health Symptoms Among Migrants and Refugees During the COVID-19 Pandemic

NCT04443764 | Unknown DMC

• 1 other identifier: REK125510 (8)
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 287
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Migrants and refugees are vulnerable subgroups in general with regards to symptoms of psychopathology. Furthermore, recent calls for paper urge investigation on current mental health status of migrants and refugees during the pandemic, as different barriers such as lack of emotional support from relatives, in addition to language barriers potentially impairing comprehension about the pandemic having the chance to increase symptoms of psychopathology such as anxiety and depression. This study seeks to investigate the levels of mental health symptoms (i.e., depression, general anxiety, and health anxiety) among immigrants and refugees in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic factors will be investigated to identify subgroups with increased risk of meeting clinically significant depression and anxiety symptoms, as established by validated cut-offs to be elaborated below. Furthermore, transdiagnostic predictors which may prove as useful intervention targets will be investigated.

Conditions

Migrants; Anxiety; Depression

Keywords

Metacognition; Refugees

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Patient Health Questionnaire 9

  • The Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer \& Williams, 2001) is used to measure symptoms of depression in accordance with the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. The questionnaire consists of nine items where each is scored on a four-point Likert scale (0-3), with the range of scores from 0 to 27. Higher scores indicate greater depression severity, and scores above 10 are considered as the cut-off that indicating that the patient is within the depressive area.

  Data is set to be collected starting from 22th of June. The data collection period will last no longer than three weeks depending on the response to the questionnaire

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7

  The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams \& Löwe, 2006) is a questionnaire consisting of seven items measuring symptoms of anxiety and worry. The items are scored on a four-point Likert scale (0-3), with the scores ranging from 0 to 21. Specific cut-off for Norwegian samples have been found yielding a cut-off of 8 and above for high sensitivity and specificity (Johnson, Ulvenes, Øktedalen \& Hoffart, 2019).

  Data is set to be collected starting from 22th of June. The data collection period will last no longer than three weeks depending on the response to the questionnaire

• Health Anxiety Symptoms

  • Symptoms of health anxiety will be measured measured with two items from the validated Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI; Salkovskis et al., 2002), one item measuring specific fear of being infected by coronavirus, and an item measuring fear of dying by the coronavirus on a four-point Likert scale (0-3).

  Data is set to be collected starting from 22th of June. The data collection period will last no longer than three weeks depending on the response to the questionnaire

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Refugees, first generation, and second generation migrants in Norway

You may qualify if:

• Eligible participants are all refugees, first generation, and second generation migrants.
• Adults including those of 18 years and above
• Who are currently living in Norway and thus experiencing identical NPIs, and
• Who had provided digital consent to partake in the study.

You may not qualify if:

• Children and adolescents (individuals below 18)
• Adults not residing in Norway during the measurement period
• Those not defined as vulnerable health-care professionals or public servide providers (see definition above)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Oslo: lead
• Modum Bad: collaborator

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders; Depression

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Sverre Urnes Johnson, PhD

  University of Oslo & Modum Bad

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• KariAnne Vrabel, PhD

  Modum Bad

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Omid Ebrahimi, Mr

  University of Oslo & Modum Bad

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Asle Hoffart, PhD

  Modum Bad & University of Oslo

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Sverre Urnes Johnson, PhD

CONTACT

41633313; s.u.johnson@psykologi.uio.no

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professer Sverre Urnes Johnson

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2020
• First Posted: June 23, 2020
• Study Start: June 22, 2020
• Primary Completion: July 13, 2020
• Study Completion: July 13, 2020
• Last Updated: June 23, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share