Background
Refugees and asylum seekers (RAS) in Germany need tailored and resource-oriented mental healthcare interventions.
Aims
To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of group psychotherapy for RAS with moderate depressive symptoms.
Method
This is a post hoc cost-effectiveness analysis of Empowerment group psychotherapy that was embedded in a stratified stepped and collaborative care model (SCCM) from the multicentre randomised controlled MEHIRA trial. One hundred and forty-nine participants were randomly assigned to SCCM or treatment as usual (TAU) and underwent Empowerment (i.e. level 3 of the SCCM for adults) or TAU. Effects were measured with the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and quality adjusted life-years (QALY) post-intervention. Health service and intervention costs were measured. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were estimated and net monetary benefit (NMB) regressions with 95% confidence intervals were performed. Cost-effectiveness was ascertained for different values of willingness to pay (WTP) using cost-effectiveness acceptability curves for probable scenarios. Trial registration number: NCT03109028 on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Results
Health service use costs were significantly lower for Empowerment than TAU after 1 year. Intervention costs were on average €409.6. Empowerment led to a significant change in PHQ-9 scores but not QALY. Bootstrapped mean ICER indicated cost-effectiveness according to PHQ-9 and varied considerably for QALY in the base case. NMB for a unit reduction in PHQ-9 score at WTP of €0 was €354.3 (€978.5 to −€269.9). Results were confirmed for different scenarios and varying WTP thresholds.
Conclusions
The Empowerment intervention was cost-effective in refugees with moderate depressive symptoms regarding the clinical outcome and led to a reduction in direct healthcare consumption. Concerning QALYs, there was a lack of confidence that Empowerment differed from TAU.
Adolescent refugees and asylum seekers (ARAS) are highly vulnerable to mental health problems. Stepped care models (SCM) and culturally sensitive therapies offer promising treatment approaches to effectively provide necessary medical and psychological support. To our knowledge, we were the first to investigate whether a culturally sensitive SCM will reduce symptoms of depression and PTSD in ARAS more effectively and efficiently than treatment as usual (TAU). We conducted a multicentric, randomized, controlled and rater-blinded trial across Germany with ARAS between the ages of 14 to 21 years. Participants (N = 158) were stratified by their level of depressive symptom severity and then equally randomized to either SCM or TAU. Depending on their severity level, SCM participants were allocated to tailored interventions. Symptom changes were assessed for depression (PHQ) and PTSD (CATS) at four time points, with the primary end point at post-intervention after 12 weeks. Based on an intention-to-treat sample, we used a linear mixed model approach for the main statistical analyses. Further evaluations included cost–utility analyses, sensitivity analyses, follow-up-analyses, response and remission rates and subgroup analysis. We found a significant reduction of PHQ (d = 0.52) and CATS (d = 0.27) scores in both groups. However, there was no significant difference between SCM and TAU. Cost–utility analyses indicated that SCM generated greater cost–utility when measured as quality-adjusted life years compared to TAU. Subgroup analysis revealed different effects for the SCM interventions depending on the outcome measure. Although culturally sensitive, SCMs did not prove to be more effective in symptom change and represent a more cost-effective treatment alternative for mentally burdened ARAS. Our research contributes to the optimization of clinical productivity and the improvement of therapeutic care for ARAS. Disorder-specific interventions should be further investigated.
Background:
Providing adequate living conditions for forcibly displaced people represents a significant challenge for host countries such as Germany. This study explores refugee mental health’s reciprocal, dynamic relationship with post-migration living conditions and social support.
Methods:
The study sample included 325 Arabic- or Farsi-speaking asylum seekers and refugees residing in Germany since 2014 and seeking mental health treatment. Associations between reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress and depression and the subjective quality of living conditions and perceived social support were analyzed using a two-level approach including multiple linear regression and network analyses.
Results:
Post-migration quality of living conditions and perceived social support were significantly associated with negative mental health outcomes on both levels. In the network, both post-migration factors were negatively connected with overlapping symptoms of psychiatric disorders, representing potential target symptoms for psychological treatment.
Conclusion:
Post-migration quality of living conditions and social support are important factors for refugee mental health and should be targeted by various actors fostering mental well-being and integration.
Background
Dropout from healthcare interventions can negatively affect patients and healthcare providers through impaired trust in the healthcare system and ineffective use of resources. Research on this topic is still largely missing on refugees and asylum seekers. The current study aimed to characterize predictors for dropout in the Mental Health in Refugees and Asylum Seekers (MEHIRA) study, one of the largest multicentered controlled trials investigating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a nationwide stepped and collaborative care model.
Methods
Predictors were multiply imputed and selected for descriptive modelling using backward elimination. The final variable set was entered into logistic regression.
Results
The overall dropout rate was 41,7%. Dropout was higher in participants in group therapy (p = 0.001; OR = 10.7), with larger satisfaction with social relationships (p = 0.017; OR = 1.87), with difficulties in maintaining personal relationships (p = 0.005; OR = 4.27), and with higher depressive symptoms (p = 0.029; OR = 1.05). Participants living in refugee accommodation (p = 0.040; OR = 0.45), with a change in social status (p = 0.008; OR = 0.67) and with conduct (p = 0.020; OR = 0.24) and emotional problems (p = 0.013; OR = 0.31) were significantly less likely to drop out of treatment.
Conclusion
Overall, the outcomes of this study suggest that predictors assessing social relationships, social status, and living conditions should be considered as topics of psychological treatment to increase adherence and as predictors for future research studies (including treatment type).
Background
Lawrence Weed introduced the “Problem-Oriented Medical Records” (POMR) approach to medicine. Its core principle is that treatment should be organised around patients’ specific problems. This approach gained widespread adoption in the United States during the 1970s. However, few studies have compared POMR with the traditional “source-based” method, and evidence supporting its application in mental health remains particularly limited.
Methods
We carried out a narrative review to examine whether POMR is appropriate for mental health care and which modifications are necessary for this purpose.
Findings
Psychiatry and psychotherapy address brain-mediated disorders that lack clear biological markers. Diagnoses rely on the assessment of psychopathological symptoms, which are grouped into syndromes. These symptoms and syndromes can be effectively categorized as “problems”. Given that psychiatric treatment is often symptomatic in that it focuses on symptoms rather than diagnoses, POMR provides an ideal framework for organizing care.
Furthermore, mental health is inherently multidimensional, encompassing biological, psychological, social, and existential domains. This complexity necessitates interdisciplinary collaboration. However, under the conventional source-based approach, professional groups often operate in parallel rather than jointly together. POMR, by contrast, facilitates seamless collaboration by aligning teams around patient-centred problems. A special aspect of mental health care is the emphasis on considering patients’ individual goals and resources, rather than focusing only on their deficits.
Interpretation
By systematically applying POMR to psychiatric care—particularly through tightly coordinated interdisciplinary treatment—clinicians could enhance both clinical and functional outcomes, improve both patient and team satisfaction, and better align treatment with patients’ unique needs. To support this approach, we propose a practical grid which we refer to as the Problem–Resources–Goals Oriented framework (PRoGO), reflecting the necessary adaptations for mental health. Clinical trials are warranted to assess the effectiveness of POMR/PRoGO in psychiatric practice and its potential to advance the field.
