Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Mar 27, 2023
Date Accepted: May 23, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Culturally adapting a digital intervention to reduce suicidal ideation for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in the UK: A study protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
Suicidal ideation (SI) is a pressing issue for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees across Europe however there are still various barriers to accessing treatment. Culturally adapted digital interventions have already shown potential to increase access for other minorities in Western countries. However, before evaluating the efficacy of the intervention, further research is needed to understand how engagement can be increased for various cultural and ethnic subgroups and levels of SI among Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.
Objective:
To culturally adapt a digital intervention to reduce SI for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.
Methods:
The study will use experience-based co-design (EBCD), an action research method, to collaboratively culturally adapt a digital intervention to reduce SI for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. This will involve conducting 20-30 interviews to understand their lived experiences with the migratory process; cultural conceptualizations of mental health and SI; coping-strategies; mental health help-seeking behaviour; and perceptions of digital mental health interventions. In addition, 3 co-design events with 6 participants in each will be held to collaboratively adapt the intervention. Themes extracted from each phase will be prioritized by a community panel before adapting the intervention.
Results:
The study began in November 2022 and will continue until the last co-design event in August 2023. The results of the study will then be published by December 2023.
Conclusions:
Access to treatment for some of the most severe mental health issues such as suicidal ideation is still limited for Syrian asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. Cultural adaptation of digital interventions developed for general populations has the potential to increase access to treatment for this population. Specifically, adapting the intervention for Syrian asylum seekers’ and refugees’ lived experience with the migratory process may enable engagement for users of different cultural and ethnic subgroups and levels of SI.
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Copyright
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