HealthIntro - Health Perspective in the Introduction Program

NCT04973215 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 237875
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 100,000
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Health problems seem one major reason for why not all refugees, especially women, fulfill the introduction program (IP) and enter the labour market after the end of the program. This challenges integration, and can lead to increased inequalities in society. The HealthIntro pilot-project and existing knowledge point towards a mismatch between the IP's goal to integrate as many refugees as possible into the labour market as soon as possible, and the demanding situation refugees with complex (health) challenges face after resettlement in the host country. Particular barriers seem related to the little flexibility of the introduction law, difficulties with collaboration between public services and with involving refugees in decision-making regarding program adjustments. It is known that refugees have more health problems than the rest of the population. Additionally, current trends in integration policy result in increasing numbers of refugees with complex challenges in municipalities, often families in which one or several members have health problems. It is therefore of high importance to develop strategies that enable municipalities to work more effectively with these most vulnerable group of refugees in the early phase of resettlement and during the IP. In collaboration with three North Norwegian municipalities and refugees, the investigators will explore how health problems interconnect with program participation on the national level, the municipal level and in a family context. Moreover, the investigators will use this knowledge to collaboratively generate ideas on how to improve the strategic work in municipalities with refugees with health problems. More specifically, the investigators will link registerdata on a national level, conduct explorative qualitative studies addressing the system level in municipalities, and the family and everday life context of refugee families, and conduct an action research inspired study to initiating change in municipalities.

Conditions

Refugee Health

Keywords

immigration; refugees; introduction program; health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Work package 1: Number of refugees dropping out of the introduction program or being unemployed after the end of the program; diagnoses associated with drop out of the program .

  Work packages 2-4 are qualitative studies and cannot be described in terms of outcome measures due to methodological reasons

  WP 1: 5-10 years after having finished the introduction program

Study Arms (3)

work package 1

all participants in Norwegian introduction program and their family relations

Other: no intervention

work package 2

strategic sample of refugees with health problems currently participating in the introduction program

Other: no intervention

work package 3

3-6 families from which one or more participate in the introduction program and one or more have health problems

Other: no intervention

Interventions

no intervention OTHER

this is not an intervention study

work package 1; work package 2; work package 3

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 55 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Work package 1: all participants in the introduction program, since start of the program in Norway, and their family relations. Work package 2: persons with refugee status settled in Harstad, Senja, or Sør-Varanger municipality who participate in the introduction program during the project period and have a self-reported health problem (sample 1), employees working in Harstad, Senja, or Sør-Varanger municipality with experience with refugees and the introduction program during their work Work package 3: families with refugee status settled in Harstad, Senja, or Sør-Varanger municipality, which have one or several health problems within the family and of which one or both parents participate in the introduction program.

You may qualify if:

• refugee status
• participate or have participated in the introduction program in Norway

You may not qualify if:

• not refugee status
• not participated in the introduction program in Norway
• Work package 2:
• refugee status
• participate in the introduction program in Harstad, Senja, or Sør-Varanger municipality during the project period and since at least one year at enrollment
• have a self-reported health problem
• no refugee status
• do not participate in the introduction program
• do not have a health problem
• has professional experience with refugees in Harstad, Senja, or Sør-Varanger municipality
• currently working in Harstad, Senja, or Sør-Varanger municipality
• above 18 years of age
• under 18 years of age
• not currently working in Harstad, Senja, or Sør-Varanger municipality
• Work package 3:

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Tromso: lead
• NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS: collaborator
• FAFO Research foundation: collaborator
• Harstad municipality: collaborator
• Senja municipality: collaborator
• Sør-Varanger municipality: collaborator

Central Study Contacts

Johanna Laue

CONTACT

004796237993; johanna.laue@uit.no

Sindre Myhr

CONTACT

simy@norceresearch.no

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: OTHER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: associate professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 23, 2021
• First Posted: July 22, 2021
• Study Start: October 1, 2021
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2022
• Study Completion: May 1, 2025
• Last Updated: July 22, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share