Refugee Emergency: DEFining and Implementing Novel Evidence-based psychosocial interventions (RE-DEFINE)

RE-DEFINE aims to test the effectiveness of an innovative psychological intervention for preventing the onset of mental disorders in refugees and asylum seekers with psychological distress resettled in middle-income and high-income countries. RE-DEFINE is particularly relevant for the refugee crisis in Europe and in bordering countries (i.e., Turkey), as the progressive increase in refugees seeking asylum poses a significant challenge to the health systems’ capacity to adequately respond to the health needs of this population. The project focuses on adaptation, testing, and implementation of Self Help Plus (SH+), a novel trans-diagnostic self-help preventive psychosocial intervention specifically developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to respond to humanitarian crises. The intervention will be delivered by non-specialists to groups of up to 30 participants at a time. The cost-effectiveness of SH+ will be tested in two large, multicentre, pragmatic randomised controlled trials. One study will be conducted in Italy, Germany, Finland, Austria, and in two UK sites (high-income countries), and a second study will be conducted in Turkey (middle-income country).