PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Background:Adequate health care provision for newly arrived refugees remains a challengeeven in countries with a highly developed health care system such as Germany and many otherEuropean countries. Care structures building on the principles of task-shifting and screen-and-treat may represent a cost-effective way to bridge the existing treatment gap.Objective:A manualized training program for so-called Intercultural Therapy Assistants (ITAs)will be presented. ITAs are intercultural mediators who are trained to conduct screenings andtake over other delegable tasks under the supervision of health care professionals.Furthermore, results of a feasibility study on a systematic screening approach conducted byITAs at a refugee reception camp in Bielefeld, Germany, will be presented.Method:ITAs were trained by the training manual. 167 newly arrived refugees underwent ascreening interview with the Refugee Health Screener (RHS). Afterwards, post-traumaticstress disorder (PTSD) and depression were assessed in a subsample of 48 persons by meansof structured validation interviews conducted by psychologists.Results:Findings demonstrated that it was feasible to conduct a systematic screeningprocedure during the initial immigration phase. However, adjustments of the screeningprocedure were necessary in order to meet the needs of a significant number of refugees insevere psychological crises and established cut-offvalues of the RHS had to be adapted.Conclusions:The Bielefeld Screening Approach conducted by ITAs may facilitate the earlysystematic identification of persons in need of mental health care and, thus, enable targetedinterventions that can help to prevent chronification of symptoms and consequentialproblems.