Social participation plays a key role in the integration of refugees and asylum seekers into their host societies, and is also closely tied to the mental health of those populations. The aim of this scoping review was to study how the concept of social participation is described in empirical research, and how it is associated with mental health outcomes.
METHODS: In total, 64 studies were identified through searches in PubMed, PsycInfo, and Sociological Abstracts. These studies describe various forms of social participation among refugees and asylum seekers, and 33 of them also addressed various forms of mental health outcomes.
RESULTS: The identified studies described forms and conditions of social participation-both in the host country and transnationally-that could be synthesized into three broad dimensions: (1) Regulatory frameworks, conditions and initiatives; (2) Established societal organizations and social structures; and (3) Community organized groups. Each of these consisted of several sub-domains. The identified dimensions of social participation were also associated with psychosocial well-being and decreased psychological distress.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for policies to enable and support the participation of refugees and asylum seekers in various dimensions of social structures in host societies. Social participation enhances resilience, re-establishes social lives, and acts as a protective factor against poor mental health outcomes.
A high proportion of refugees have been subjected to potentially traumatic experiences (PTEs), including torture. PTEs, and torture in particular, are powerful predictors of mental ill health. This paper reports the development and preliminary validation of a brief refugee trauma checklist applicable for survey studies.
METHODS: A pool of 232 items was generated based on pre-existing instruments. Conceptualization, item selection and item refinement was conducted based on existing literature and in collaboration with experts. Ten cognitive interviews using a Think Aloud Protocol (TAP) were performed in a clinical setting, and field testing of the proposed checklist was performed in a total sample of n = 137 asylum seekers from Syria.
RESULTS: The proposed refugee trauma history checklist (RTHC) consists of 2 × 8 items, concerning PTEs that occurred before and during the respondents' flight, respectively. Results show low item non-response and adequate psychometric properties Conclusion: RTHC is a usable tool for providing self-report data on refugee trauma history surveys of community samples. The core set of included events can be augmented and slight modifications can be applied to RTHC for use also in other refugee populations and settings.
The purpose of this study was to develop an interview guide for use by primary healthcare professionals to support them in identifying the rehabilitation needs of forced resettled women from the Middle East living with chronic pain. Previous findings together with the existing literature were used as the basis for developing the interview guide in three steps: item generation, cognitive interviews, and a pilot study. The study resulted in a 16-item interview guide focusing on patients' concerns and expectations, with consideration of pre-migration, migration, and post-migration factors that might affect their health. With the help of the guide, patients were also invited to identify difficulties in their daily activities and to take part in setting goals and planning their rehabilitation. The current interview guide provides professional guidance to caretakers, taking a person-centered participative point of departure when meeting and planning care, for and together, with representatives from dispersed ethnic populations in Sweden. It can be used together with the patient by all staff members working in primary healthcare, with the aim of contributing to continuity of care and multi-professional collaboration.