Article type
Year
Abstract
Background:
Many migrant communities in Canada have been forcibly displaced from their homes and lands due to nature or man-made disasters. These disadvantaged populations experience trauma and violence prior to and during their migration journey, which increases the odds of developing trauma-specific mental health disorders, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD. Technology-delivered interventions have emerged as a possible solution to reach patients that would otherwise not have access to mental health treatment due to personal or system-level barriers.
Objectives:
The objective of this research project is to systematically review best available evidence on the effectiveness and implication on health equity of technology-delivered interventions in the management of mental health conditions among forcibly displaced migrants.
Methods:
We plan to conduct an equity-focused systematic review conforming to the PRISMA-E checklist. We will develop a comprehensive search strategy in consultation with a health sciences librarian and will use this strategy to systematically search multiple online databases. Records yielded by our search will be screened by two independent reviewers. Relevant data will be extracted from included studies and analyzed as appropriate. Cochrane’s Risk of Bias 2 tool will be used to critically appraise the quality of primary studies, and GRADE methodology will be used to assess certainty of evidence. Moreover, to examine possible implications on health equity, we will stratify reported effect estimates by migrants’ place of residence, race and ethnicity, occupation, gender, religion, education, socioeconomic status, social capital, and any characteristics associated with discrimination.
Relevance and added value:
To the best of our knowledge, this systematic review is the first of its kind to provide a robust and equity-focused analysis of evidence on technology-delivered mental health interventions among forcibly displaced migrants. Moreover, the scope of this review conforms to the colloquium’s research focus, as it examines the use of reachable and interactive interventions in improving the experiences and health outcomes of one of the most disadvantaged populations around the world.
Many migrant communities in Canada have been forcibly displaced from their homes and lands due to nature or man-made disasters. These disadvantaged populations experience trauma and violence prior to and during their migration journey, which increases the odds of developing trauma-specific mental health disorders, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD. Technology-delivered interventions have emerged as a possible solution to reach patients that would otherwise not have access to mental health treatment due to personal or system-level barriers.
Objectives:
The objective of this research project is to systematically review best available evidence on the effectiveness and implication on health equity of technology-delivered interventions in the management of mental health conditions among forcibly displaced migrants.
Methods:
We plan to conduct an equity-focused systematic review conforming to the PRISMA-E checklist. We will develop a comprehensive search strategy in consultation with a health sciences librarian and will use this strategy to systematically search multiple online databases. Records yielded by our search will be screened by two independent reviewers. Relevant data will be extracted from included studies and analyzed as appropriate. Cochrane’s Risk of Bias 2 tool will be used to critically appraise the quality of primary studies, and GRADE methodology will be used to assess certainty of evidence. Moreover, to examine possible implications on health equity, we will stratify reported effect estimates by migrants’ place of residence, race and ethnicity, occupation, gender, religion, education, socioeconomic status, social capital, and any characteristics associated with discrimination.
Relevance and added value:
To the best of our knowledge, this systematic review is the first of its kind to provide a robust and equity-focused analysis of evidence on technology-delivered mental health interventions among forcibly displaced migrants. Moreover, the scope of this review conforms to the colloquium’s research focus, as it examines the use of reachable and interactive interventions in improving the experiences and health outcomes of one of the most disadvantaged populations around the world.