OBJECTIVE: Screening for emotional distress in newly arrived refugees is not a standard practice due to multiple barriers, one being the absence of a valid screening instrument for multiple refugee populations. The Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS-15) was empirically developed to be a valid, efficient and effective screener for common mental disorders in refugees. METHOD: Development followed published methods. Two hundred fifty-one refugees from three countries were screened at their public health visit with a pilot instrument, and 190 were administered diagnostic proxy instruments (DPs). Data analyses using multiple methods selected the best items for classification on DPs. Follow-up clinical service data were obtained. RESULTS: Post hoc analyses of the developed RHS-15 showed good sensitivity(range .81 to .95) and specificity (range .86 to .89) to DP's in two of three ethnic groups. Seventy-four percent of positive cases accepted treatment services. Of those, 79% engaged in treatment, and 92% continued treatment more than 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: The RHS-15 is a screener for common mental disorders in newly-arrived refugees in public health. The RHS-15appears to be effective, but further prospective research in a broad range of refugee groups is required to establish generalizability. Strengths, limitations, methods to apply the RHS-15 for optimal performance, and future directions for research and implementation are discussed. Published by Elsevier Inc.
OBJECTIVE: Screening for emotional distress in newly arrived refugees is not a standard practice due to multiple barriers, one being the absence of a valid screening instrument for multiple refugee populations. The Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS-15) was empirically developed to be a valid, efficient and effective screener for common mental disorders in refugees. METHOD: Development followed published methods. Two hundred fifty-one refugees from three countries were screened at their public health visit with a pilot instrument, and 190 were administered diagnostic proxy instruments (DPs). Data analyses using multiple methods selected the best items for classification on DPs. Follow-up clinical service data were obtained. RESULTS: Post hoc analyses of the developed RHS-15 showed good sensitivity(range .81 to .95) and specificity (range .86 to .89) to DP's in two of three ethnic groups. Seventy-four percent of positive cases accepted treatment services. Of those, 79% engaged in treatment, and 92% continued treatment more than 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: The RHS-15 is a screener for common mental disorders in newly-arrived refugees in public health. The RHS-15appears to be effective, but further prospective research in a broad range of refugee groups is required to establish generalizability. Strengths, limitations, methods to apply the RHS-15 for optimal performance, and future directions for research and implementation are discussed. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Authors: Kerem Böge; Carine Karnouk; Eric Hahn; Frank Schneider; Ute Habel; Tobias Banaschewski; Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg; Hans Joachim Salize; Inge Kamp-Becker; Frank Padberg; Alkomiet Hasan; Peter Falkai; Michael A Rapp; Paul L Plener; Thomas Stamm; Nehal Elnahrawy; Klaus Lieb; Andreas Heinz; Malek Bajbouj Journal: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Date: 2019-02-22 Impact factor: 5.270
Authors: Ashley K Hagaman; Teresa I Sivilli; Trong Ao; Curtis Blanton; Heidi Ellis; Barbara Lopes Cardozo; Sharmila Shetty Journal: J Immigr Minor Health Date: 2016-08
Authors: T Sukale; C Hertel; E Möhler; J Joas; M Müller; T Banaschewski; R Schepker; M G Kölch; J M Fegert; P L Plener Journal: Nervenarzt Date: 2017-01 Impact factor: 1.214