Presentation Information
[O-15-06]Multilingual screening of mental health problems among refugees in Sweden - development and evaluation of an online tiered screening procedure (i-TAP)
*Jennifer Meurling1, Elisabet Rondung1, Gerhard Andersson2, Anna Bjärtå1 (1.Mid Sweden University(Sweden), 2.Linköping University(Sweden))
Keywords:
Accessible screening,Refugees,Multilingual,Multi-symptom
Background: Refugees are at increased risk of mental health problems, and prevalence is consistently found to be higher compared to the general population. Despite the high need for mental health interventions, services tend to be under-utilised by refugees resettled in high-income countries, and various barriers compromise access to mental health care. Multi-symptom online screening could increase accessibility to care, improve and facilitate initial assessment.
This study aimed to evaluate the i-TAP, a multilingual, multi-symptom, internet-based tiered screening procedure designed to identify clinically relevant psychiatric symptoms among refugees in Sweden.
Methods: We conducted a mixed methods study with 70 adult refugees speaking Arabic, Dari, Farsi or Swedish, in June-October 2022. Participants first answered the i-TAP, followed by a clinical interview accomplished by a psychologist. Adjacently, participants completed a short semi-structured interview about the user-experience and acceptability of the i-TAP. Diagnostic accuracy and screening efficiency were investigated, and reflexive thematic analysis was employed to explore acceptability.
Results: The i-TAP identified 91.7% of those with a clinical diagnosis, with an accuracy ranging from 77.1-84.3% for the respective disorders. The i-TAP was perceived as relevant, approachable, but not comprehensive of the refugee experience.
Conclusion: The results show that the i-TAP could identify clinically relevant symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD and insomnia, with good accuracy and efficiency among refugees in Sweden. Furthermore, the i-TAP was found acceptable and easy to complete by most participants, indicating feasibility. However, the lack of post-migration factors was put forward. Being a multi-symptom, adaptive screening procedure, available in several languages, the i-TAP poses an accessible, affordable and efficient alternative to formal help-seeking and initial assessment, and could thus facilitate access to mental health services for refugees.
This study aimed to evaluate the i-TAP, a multilingual, multi-symptom, internet-based tiered screening procedure designed to identify clinically relevant psychiatric symptoms among refugees in Sweden.
Methods: We conducted a mixed methods study with 70 adult refugees speaking Arabic, Dari, Farsi or Swedish, in June-October 2022. Participants first answered the i-TAP, followed by a clinical interview accomplished by a psychologist. Adjacently, participants completed a short semi-structured interview about the user-experience and acceptability of the i-TAP. Diagnostic accuracy and screening efficiency were investigated, and reflexive thematic analysis was employed to explore acceptability.
Results: The i-TAP identified 91.7% of those with a clinical diagnosis, with an accuracy ranging from 77.1-84.3% for the respective disorders. The i-TAP was perceived as relevant, approachable, but not comprehensive of the refugee experience.
Conclusion: The results show that the i-TAP could identify clinically relevant symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD and insomnia, with good accuracy and efficiency among refugees in Sweden. Furthermore, the i-TAP was found acceptable and easy to complete by most participants, indicating feasibility. However, the lack of post-migration factors was put forward. Being a multi-symptom, adaptive screening procedure, available in several languages, the i-TAP poses an accessible, affordable and efficient alternative to formal help-seeking and initial assessment, and could thus facilitate access to mental health services for refugees.