Adapting Group PM+ for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in Colombia

Increasing Mental Health and Psychosocial Social Support for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants: Adapting Group Problem Management Plus (Group PM+) for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in Colombia

This study is a type 2 hybrid implementation design, which aims to evaluate the utility and effectiveness of an intervention while simultaneously assessing implementation outcomes, such as adoption, fidelity, and maintenance. The aim is to compare participant level outcomes when the intervention is delivered by facilitators that are trained and supervised by psychologists versus by lay-supervisors. Group PM+ will be delivered to participants in two phases: first, with high levels of technical support through intensive training and supervision by mental health professionals and a second phase with routine service delivery and supervision. Non-specialist community members who are trained and supervised by psychologists to deliver PM+ as part of Phase 1 will be trained to become supervisors and train and support a cohort of new non-specialist facilitators for Group PM+ delivery in Phase 2. This model employs a train-the-trainers model to replicate routine service delivery especially in settings where mental health specialists may not be available to provide robust technical support and supervision to lay PM+ facilitators. The aim is to compare effectiveness and implementation outcomes of Group PM+ when delivered within routine care, to identify best practices for implementation, and ultimately, to shorten the time lag between intervention research and routine uptake.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Mental Health Wellness 1
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Group Problem Management Plus (PM+)

Detailed Description

This study is a type 2 hybrid implementation design, which aims to evaluate the utility and effectiveness of an intervention while simultaneously assessing implementation outcomes, such as adoption, fidelity, and maintenance. The aim is to compare participant level outcomes when the intervention is delivered by facilitators that are trained and supervised by psychologists versus by lay-supervisors. Group PM+ will be delivered to participants in two phases: first, with high levels of technical support through intensive training and supervision by mental health professionals and a second phase with routine service delivery and supervision. Non-specialist community members who are trained and supervised by psychologists to deliver PM+ as part of Phase 1 will be trained to become supervisors and train and support a cohort of new non-specialist facilitators for Group PM+ delivery in Phase 2. This model employs a train-the-trainers model to replicate routine service delivery especially in settings where mental health specialists may not be available to provide robust technical support and supervision to lay PM+ facilitators. The aim is to compare effectiveness and implementation outcomes of Group PM+ when delivered within routine care, to identify best practices for implementation, and ultimately, to shorten the time lag between intervention research and routine uptake.

This research design offers a few points of comparison:

1. change in primary and secondary outcomes at 1-week follow-up and 3-month follow-up amongst participants that receive Group PM+ with research support (Phase 1) compared to those that receive the intervention with standard care and implementation (Phase 2), [Primary objective]
2. differences in implementation indicators (ex. Facilitator competencies, fidelity to PM+, participant retention, cost effectiveness, adverse events, human resource involvement and more) in Phase 1 of implementation compared to Phase 2,
3. change in primary and secondary outcomes amongst participants in the intervention arm compared to participants who do not receive the intervention during Phase 1.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 140
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Manaswi Sangraula, PhD; Phone Number: 5712308443; Email: sangraum@newschool.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Adam Brown, PhD; Phone Number: 6468318657; Email: brownad@newschool.edu

Study Locations

• Colombia
  • Barranquilla, Colombia
    • Recruiting
    • HIAS
    • Contact: Jennifer Diaz; Phone Number: 212-967-4100; Email: Jennifer Diaz <jennifer.diaz@hias.org>
    • Contact: Camilo Ramirez; Email: camilo.ramirez@hias.org
    • Principal Investigator: Adam Brown, PhD
    • Principal Investigator: Ana M Trejos, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• must identify as a woman
• over 18 years of age
• must state that they are planning to live in Barranquilla for at least three months after the date of screening
• moderate functional impairment as indicated by scoring greater than 16 on the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) for health and disability
• moderate psychological distress as indicated by scoring greater than 2 on the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12)

Exclusion Criteria:

• imminent risk of suicide and state that they have plans for attempting suicide
• show severe cognitive impairment (e.g. severe intellectual disability or dementia) or a severe disability as identified by the Ten Questions (TQ-10)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Intervention Arm; Participants will be provided the 5 session intervention.	Behavioral: Group Problem Management Plus (PM+); Group PM+ is a low-intensity, trans-diagnostic, brief psychological intervention developed by the WHO. Group PM+ consists of five sessions delivered in five consecutive weeks and includes strategies that are aimed towards decreasing symptoms of depression, anxiety, general distress, and other related conditions. Group PM+ is designed to be delivered by non-specialists, persons without a formal education and licensure in psychology or mental health.
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Wait list control arm; Participants will not be provided Group PM+ in Phase 1 but will be provided the intervention after all participants in the initial intervention arm receive Group PM+.	Behavioral: Group Problem Management Plus (PM+); Group PM+ is a low-intensity, trans-diagnostic, brief psychological intervention developed by the WHO. Group PM+ consists of five sessions delivered in five consecutive weeks and includes strategies that are aimed towards decreasing symptoms of depression, anxiety, general distress, and other related conditions. Group PM+ is designed to be delivered by non-specialists, persons without a formal education and licensure in psychology or mental health.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9)	a well-known 10-item instrument that measures symptoms of depression and general distress. It has been used in prior PM+ studies as the primary participant level outcome. Scoring between 5-9 points indicates mild depression, 10-14 points indicates moderate depression, 15-19 points indicates moderately severe depression, and 20 or more points indicates severe depression.	4 months after baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Post-traumatic stress disorder Checklist (PCL-5)	a 20-item checklist that corresponds with the 20 DSM IV PTSD symptoms	4 months after baseline
Psychological Outcome Profiles (PSCYHLOPS)	This instrument seeks participants perspectives on their psychological distress related to the problems they are facing and well-being scored on a 0 to 5 scale	4 months after baseline
Reducing Tension Checklist (RTC)	12-item assessment of psychological and behavioral skills related to PM+ to evaluate skill acquisition	4 months after baseline
Alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT)	This assessment measures hazardous and harmful alcohol use.	4 months after baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The New School
• Collaborators: Columbia University; Universidad del Norte; HIAS

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): February 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED): December 31, 2022
• Study Completion (ANTICIPATED): December 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 19, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 25, 2022
• First Posted (ACTUAL): July 28, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): July 28, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 25, 2022
• Last Verified: July 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: GR20920

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: All participant data will anonymized when input into databases. Individual participant data will only be available to those on the research team.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No