Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35694653›Full record

ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Europe2022

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for the treatment of depressive symptoms in refugees and asylum seekers: A multi-centred randomized controlled trial.

Kerem Böge, Carine Karnouk, Andreas Hoell, Mira Tschorn, Inge Kamp-Becker, Frank Padberg, Aline Übleis, Alkomiet Hasan, Peter Falkai, Hans-Joachim Salize and 21 more

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Lancet regional health. Europe, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03109028 nacompletednot on this map

Stepped Care Model Supporting Mental Health in Refugees and Asylum Seekers

TypeinterventionalSponsorCharite University, Berlin, GermanyRan2018 to 2020Enrolled584ConditionsAffective DisordersArmsPeer-to-Peer-Groupintervention, Smartphone-based-Intervention, Gendersensitive-Groupintervention, Empowerment-Groupintervention, Adolescent-Groupintervention
NCT07104695 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Studying the Feasibility and Acceptability of the SOLOMIYA App - a Smartphone-Based Intervention for People Living Under Prolonged Stress Due to the Ongoing War in Ukraine

TypeinterventionalSponsorSolveig KemnaRan2026 to 2026Enrolled80ConditionsStress - Prevention of Sleep Disorders, PTSD and DepressionArmsSolomiya App - CBT-based self-help intervention
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Guideline
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Empowerment group therapy for refugees with affective disorders: results of a multicenter randomized controlled trial.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2023
    Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

31 authors.

Kerem BögeDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Carine KarnoukDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Andreas HoellCentral Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Mira TschornDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Human Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Inge Kamp-BeckerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, München, Germany.
Frank PadbergDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, BKH Augsburg, Dr.-Mack-Str. 1, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
Aline ÜbleisDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, BKH Augsburg, Dr.-Mack-Str. 1, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
Alkomiet HasanDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University and JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich and RWTH, Aachen, Germany.
Peter FalkaiDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, BKH Augsburg, Dr.-Mack-Str. 1, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
Hans-Joachim SalizeCentral Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Andreas Meyer-LindenbergCentral Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Tobias BanaschewskiCentral Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Frank SchneiderUniversity Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Ute HabelUniversity Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Paul PlenerDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Eric HahnDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Maren WiechersDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, BKH Augsburg, Dr.-Mack-Str. 1, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
Michael StrupfDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, BKH Augsburg, Dr.-Mack-Str. 1, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
Andrea JobstDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, BKH Augsburg, Dr.-Mack-Str. 1, 86156, Augsburg, Germany.
Sabina MillenetCentral Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Edgar HoehneDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, München, Germany.
Thorsten SukaleDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Raphael DinauerDepartment of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Potsdam, Germany.
Martin SchusterDepartment of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Potsdam, Germany.
Nassim MehranDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Franziska KaiserDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University and JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich and RWTH, Aachen, Germany.
Stefanie BröchelerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University and JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich and RWTH, Aachen, Germany.
Klaus LiebDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Andreas HeinzDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
Michael RappDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Human Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Malek BajboujDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Current evidence points towards a high prevalence of psychological distress in refugee populations, contrasting with a scarcity of resources and amplified by linguistic, institutional, financial, and cultural barriers. The objective of the study is to investigate the overall effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a Stepped Care and Collaborative Model (SCCM) at reducing depressive symptoms in refugees, compared with the overall routine care practices within Germany's mental healthcare system (treatment-as-usual, TAU). Methods: A multicentre, clinician-blinded, randomised, controlled trial was conducted across seven university sites in Germany. Asylum seekers and refugees with relevant depressive symptoms with a Patient Health Questionnaires score of ≥ 5 and a Refugee Health Screener score of ≥ 12. Participants were randomly allocated to one of two treatment arms (SCCM or TAU) for an intervention period of three months between April 2018 and March 2020. In the SCCM, participants were allocated to interventions tailored to their symptom severity, including watchful waiting, peer-to-peer- or smartphone intervention, psychological group therapies or mental health expert treatment. The primary endpoint was defined as the change in depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9) after 12 weeks. The secondary outcome was the change in Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) from baseline to post-intervention. Findings: The intention-to-treat sample included 584 participants who were randomized to the SCCM (n= 294) or TAU (n=290). Using a mixed-effects general linear model with time, and the interaction of time by randomisation group as fixed effects and study site as random effect, we found significant effects for time (p < .001) and time by group interaction (p < .05) for intention-to-treat and per-protocol analysis. Estimated marginal means of the PHQ-9 scores after 12 weeks were significantly lower in SCCM than in TAU (for intention-to-treat: PHQ-9 mean difference at T Interpretation: The SSCM resulted in a more effective and cost-effective reduction of depressive symptoms compared with TAU. Findings suggest a suitable model to provide mental health services in circumstances where resources are limited, particularly in the context of forced migration and pandemics. Funding: This project is funded by the Innovationsfond and German Ministry of Health [grant number 01VSF16061]. The present trial is registered under Clinical-Trials.gov under the registration number: NCT03109028. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03109028.

Indexed as

Asylum seekersCost-effectivenessDepressionGermanyInterventionsMental health careRefugeesSCCMStepped-care and collaborative model

Identifiers

PMID35694653
PMCPMC9184853

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.