Effects of a self-guided digital mental health self-help intervention for Syrian refugees in Egypt: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Digital mental health interventions for smartphones, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) Step-by-Step (SbS) program, are potentially scalable solutions to improve access to mental health and psychosocial support in refugee populations. Our study objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of SbS as self-guided intervention with optional message-based contact-on-demand (COD) support on reducing psychological distress, functional impairment, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and self-identified problems in a sample of Syrian refugees residing in Egypt.

Methods and findings

We conducted a 2-arm pragmatic randomized controlled trial. A total of 538 Syrians residing in Egypt with elevated levels of psychological distress (Kessler Psychological D

SUBMITTER: Burchert S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11419380 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature