Cultural adaptation of a self-help app for grieving Syrian refugees in Switzerland. A feasibility and acceptability pilot-RCT.

Background: The global refugee population has significantly increased, with Syrian refugees being one of the largest displaced groups. Bereavement represents a major challenge. However, access to mental health care is limited by structural and cultural barriers.

Addressing "what matters most" to reduce mental health stigma in primary healthcare settings: a qualitative study in Lebanon.

Background: "What matters most" (WMM) is a theoretical framework based on medical anthropology and draws on cultural concepts of values and morals. It has been employed to identify cross-cultural aspects of mental health stigma. This approach assists practitioners, advocates, and researchers in assessing stigma-related factors that are relevant to the experiences of individuals in diverse cultural contexts.

Cultural adaptation of an internet-based self-help app for grieving Syrian refugees in Switzerland.

Background: Loss and grief pose significant challenges for victims of armed conflicts, such as Syrian refugees. Internet-based interventions (IBIs) present a promising solution to address this treatment gap and provide adequate support. However, research on grief, grief support, and IBIs remain largely limited to Western cultural contexts, and culturally adapted IBIs for grief are needed.

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

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.

Why Did Our Trial Not Work Out? A Qualitative Analysis.

Background: An online self-help programme for the treatment of depression called Hap-pas-Hapi was tested among Albanian-speaking immigrants in Switzerland and Germany, and two different levels of cultural adaptation were compared. Despite a massive recruitment effort, an insufficient number of participants could be recruited, and the drop-out rate was over 90%.

Aims: We conducted a qualitative study to better understand the reasons for the non-use of Hap-pas-Hapi.

Effect of Cultural Adaptation of a Smartphone-Based Self-Help Programme on Its Acceptability and Efficacy: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Research on cultural adaptation of psychological interventions indicates that a higher level of adaptation is associated with a higher effect size of the intervention. However, direct comparisons of different levels of adaptations are scarce.

Aims: This study used a smartphone-based self-help programme called Step-by-Step (Albanian: Hap-pas-Hapi) for the treatment of psychological distress among Albanian-speaking immigrants in Switzerland and Germany.

Cost-Effectiveness of Digital Mental Health Versus Usual Care During Humanitarian Crises in Lebanon: Pragmatic Randomized Trial.

Background: There is evidence from meta-analyses and systematic reviews that digital mental health interventions for depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders tend to be cost-effective. However, no such evidence exists for guided digital mental health care in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) facing humanitarian crises, where the needs are highest. Step-by-Step (SbS), a digital mental health intervention for depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders, proved to be effective for Lebanese citizens and war-affected Syrians residing in Lebanon.

Cultural concepts of distress among Albanian young adults living in Switzerland - a qualitative study.

Objectives: Existing research recognizes the critical role that social, sociodemographic, and acculturative processes play in increasing vulnerability for experiencing psychological distress among second-generation migrants. However, to date, far too little attention has been given to the study of psychological distress in this social group. The main objective of this study is to examine cultural identities, as well as expressions and causes of psychological distress among second-generation Albanian-speaking migrants in Switzerland.

User-centered development of an internet-based CBT intervention for the treatment of loneliness in older individuals.

Background: Loneliness is a widespread phenomenon associated with a number of negative health outcomes. Older individuals may constitute one important target group with a need for effective interventions. However, despite evidence showing that addressing maladaptive social cognition (e.

Feasibility and uptake of a digital mental health intervention for depression among Lebanese and Syrian displaced people in Lebanon: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Digital interventions are increasingly regarded as a potential solution for the inaccessibility of mental health treatment across low-and-middle-income settings, especially for common mental disorders. Step-by-Step (SbS) is a digital, guided self-help intervention for depression found effective in two Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in Lebanon. For research implementation and further scale-up, this paper reports the results of a qualitative evaluation of SbS among the Lebanese and others and displaced Syrians in Lebanon.

Correction: Effects of a WHO-guided digital health intervention for depression in Syrian refugees in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.

Differential Pathways from Child Maltreatment Types to Insecure Adult Attachment Styles via Psychological and Social Resources: A Bayesian Network Analysis.

Child maltreatment has been linked to insecure adult attachment. However, it is not yet clear how different child maltreatment types are associated with attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in adulthood; and whether resilience against these insecure attachment styles is dependent on risk-specific resources. Therefore, this study explored differential pathways from child maltreatment types to attachment-related anxiety and avoidance in adulthood and examined whether psychological resources (self-esteem) and social resources (perceived social support) show risk-specific effects.

Reporting Cultural Adaptation in Psychological Trials - The RECAPT criteria.

Background: There is a lack of empirical evidence on the level of cultural adaptation required for psychological interventions developed in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies to be effective for the treatment of common mental disorders among culturally and ethnically diverse groups. This lack of evidence is partly due to insufficient documentation of cultural adaptation in psychological trials. Standardised documentation is needed in order to enhance empirical and meta-analytic evidence.

From Formative Research to Cultural Adaptation of a Face-to-Face and Internet-Based Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention for Arabic-Speaking Refugees in Germany.

Background: This study aims to provide a transparent and replicable documentation approach for the cultural adaptation of a cognitive-behavioural transdiagnostic intervention (Common Elements Treatment Approach, CETA) for Arabic-speaking refugees with common mental disorders in Germany.

Method: A mixed-methods approach was used, including literature review, interviews, expert decisions and questionnaires, in order to adapt the original CETA as well as an internet-based guided version (eCETA). The process of cultural adaptation was based on a conceptual framework and was facilitated by an adaptation monitoring form as well as guidelines which facilitate the reporting of cultural adaptation in psychological trials (RECAPT).

Standardised Research Methods and Documentation in Cultural Adaptation: The Need, the Potential and Future Steps.

Background: Refugees and asylum seekers in Europe are affected by high prevalence of common mental disorders. Under the call 'mental health of refugee populations', the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FMER) funded a series of research projects to test evidence-based psychological interventions among refugee populations in Germany. In addition, the "Task force for cultural adaptation of mental health interventions for refugees" was established to develop a structured procedure for harmonising and documenting cultural adaptations across the FMER-funded research projects.

Mental health service areas in Switzerland.

Objectives: Small area analysis is a health services research technique that facilitates geographical comparison of services supply and utilization rates between health service areas (HSAs). HSAs are functionally relevant regions around medical facilities within which most residents undergo treatment. We aimed to identify HSAs for psychiatric outpatient care (HSA-PSY) in Switzerland.

Mental health stigma and discrimination in Ethiopia: evidence synthesis to inform stigma reduction interventions.

Background: People with mental illnesses are at an increased risk of experiencing human rights violations, stigma and discrimination. Even though mental health stigma and discrimination are universal, there appears to be a higher burden in low- and middle-income countries. Anti-stigma interventions need to be grounded in local evidence.

Effects of a WHO-guided digital health intervention for depression in Syrian refugees in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Most displaced people with mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries do not receive effective care, and their access to care has deteriorated during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Digital mental health interventions are scalable when digital access is adequate, and they can be safely delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined whether a new WHO-guided digital mental health intervention, Step-by-Step, in which participants were supported by a nonspecialist helper, was effective in reducing depression among displaced people in Lebanon.

Guided digital health intervention for depression in Lebanon: randomised trial.

Background: Most people with mental disorders in communities exposed to adversity in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not receive effective care. Digital mental health interventions are scalable when digital access is adequate, and can be safely delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To examine the effects of a new WHO-guided digital mental health intervention, Step-by-Step, supported by a non-specialist helper in Lebanon, in the context of concurring economic, humanitarian and political crises, a large industrial disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health stigma at primary health care centres in Lebanon: qualitative study.

Background: Mental health-related stigma is a global public health concern and a major barrier to seeking care. In this study, we explored the role of stigma as a barrier to scaling up mental health services in primary health care (PHC) centres in Lebanon. We focused on the experiences of Healthcare Providers (HCPs) providing services to patients with mental health conditions (MHCs), the views of policy makers, and the perceptions of stigma or discrimination among individuals with MHCs.

Identifying well-being profiles and resilience characteristics in ex-members of fundamentalist Christian faith communities.

There is a lack of empirical research on the heterogeneity in well-being of individuals who disaffiliated (i.e., left or were expelled) from an exclusionary and demanding faith community.

Cultural concepts of distress and complex PTSD: Future directions for research and treatment.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) was introduced as a new diagnostic category in ICD-11. It encompasses PTSD symptoms along with disturbances in self-organisation (DSO), i.e.

Efficacy of internet-based interventions for common mental disorder symptoms and psychosocial problems in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Although a high proportion of older adults suffer from common mental disorder symptoms and psychosocial problems, only a small number of older individuals seek psychological treatment. Internet-based interventions have the potential to bridge this treatment gap. However, while there is extensive literature on internet-based treatments in younger to middle-aged adults, research on older individuals is lacking.