Research aim: To investigate the effect of integrating cross-sectoral collaboration with the municipality in psychosocial treatment of trauma-affected refugees.

Design: Randomised controlled trial (RCT)

Population: 230 patients with refugee status and post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients must be unemployed and attending a municipal job centre or sickness-benefit unit in one of the five collaborating municipalities; Frederikssund, Gladsaxe, Hillerød, København, or Lyngby-Taarbæk.

Methods: We compare treatment as usual comprising 10 sessions with a medical doctor (pharmacological treatment and psycho-education) and 16 sessions with a psychologist (cognitive behavioural therapy) with add-on of the cross-sectoral social intervention. The core of the intervention consists of three meetings between the patient, the municipal case counsellor and clinicians from CTP. The meetings are held at the beginning, half-way and end of an 8-10 months multidisciplinary treatment course.

The primary outcome is WHODAS 2.0 together with a variety of secondary outcomes measuring psychiatric symptoms, quality of life and social factors (HTQ, HSCL-25, WHO-5, EQ6D, CHAI, HAM17-D+A, GAF-F+S).

Primary investigator: Maja Bruhn, MD, PhD student

Supervisors: Jessica Carlsson, MD, PhD, Lene Eplov, MD, PhD, Carsten Hjorthøj, Msc Public Health, PhD

Publications

Bruhn, M., Laugesen, H., Kromann-Larsen, M., Trevino, C. S., Eplov, L., Hjorthøj, C., & Carlsson, J. (2022). The effect of an integrated care intervention of multidisciplinary mental health treatment and employment services for trauma-affected refugees: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials, 23(1), 859.​