Community-Based Occupational Therapy for Syrian Refugees to Improve Social Participation and Occupational Justice (COT-SYR-25)

The Effect of a Community-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention on Occupational Justice and Social Participation in Syrian Refugees: A Non-Invasive Clinical Study

This study aims to examine the effects of a community-based occupational therapy intervention on occupational justice, participation in daily life activities, occupational performance, satisfaction, and overall functioning among Syrian refugees living in Turkey. Refugees frequently encounter social, economic, and environmental barriers that restrict their engagement in meaningful daily activities and negatively affect their sense of autonomy, belonging, and participation. Addressing these complex challenges requires interventions that extend beyond individual skill development and actively target social participation, access to community resources, and justice in everyday occupations.

In this study, a structured community-based occupational therapy intervention has been developed based on the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework. The intervention is designed to enhance participants' access to community resources, support engagement in meaningful daily activities, strengthen social participation, and promote empowerment and self-determination. The program consists of group-based, activity-oriented sessions implemented within real-life community settings to facilitate contextualized learning and participation.

A total of 16 adult Syrian refugees are planned to be enrolled in the study and assigned to either an intervention group or a control group using a parallel-group design. Participants in the intervention group will receive a five-week community-based occupational therapy program comprising ten structured sessions. Participants in the control group will receive a single informational session focusing on daily life and available services in Turkey. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and immediately after the intervention using standardized measures of occupational justice, occupational performance and satisfaction, participation in daily activities, and overall functioning.

The findings of this study are expected to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of community-based occupational therapy interventions in promoting occupational justice, participation, and functional well-being among refugee populations. The results are also anticipated to contribute to the development of rights-based, inclusive, and participation-focused rehabilitation practices for forcibly displaced communities.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Refugees; Occupational Injustice
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Community-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention; Behavioral: Information Session on Daily Life in Turkey

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 16
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Muhammed Rohat Yazici, PhD(c), OT; Phone Number: +90 539 910 0130; Email: rhtyzci@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being a Syrian refugee,
• Being 18 years of age or older,
• Having sufficient Turkish language proficiency to communicate effectively,
• Willingness to participate in the study voluntarily and providing written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to communicate in Turkish,
• Presence of a cognitive or neurological condition that may interfere with communication or participation in the assessment
• Presence of a serious health condition that may prevent regular attendance at the intervention or educational sessions.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Community-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention; Participants in this arm will receive a structured community-based occupational therapy intervention developed based on the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework. The intervention will consist of ten group-based sessions delivered over five weeks, focusing on access to community resources, meaningful daily activities, social participation, empowerment, and occupational justice	Behavioral: Community-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention; This intervention is a structured community-based occupational therapy program developed based on the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework. The program is designed to support Syrian refugees' engagement in meaningful daily activities, improve access to community resources, enhance social participation, and promote empowerment and self-determination. The intervention consists of ten group-based sessions delivered over five weeks in community settings. Sessions include activity-based learning, guided group discussions, skills development, and experiential participation in real-life contexts. The content focuses on daily life activities, social roles, community participation, stress management, and access to social and institutional resources. The intervention is delivered by an occupational therapist and emphasizes participatory, rights-based, and culturally sensitive approaches to address occupational injustice and support functional well-being.; Other Names: Participatory Occupational Justice-Based Occupational Therapy Program
Active Comparator: Control - Information Session; Participants in this arm will receive a single informational session related to daily life in Turkey, including basic information about social services and community resources. No occupational therapy intervention will be provided during the study period.	Behavioral: Information Session on Daily Life in Turkey; This intervention consists of a single, standardized informational session provided to participants in the control group. The session includes general information about daily life in Turkey, such as basic social, cultural, and institutional structures. No occupational therapy intervention, skill training, or activity-based therapeutic content is provided. The session is intended to control for attention and contact time without influencing occupational performance, participation, or occupational justice outcomes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Occupational Justice Scale for Refugees (OJS-R)	Occupational justice will be assessed using the Occupational Justice Scale for Refugees (OJS-R), a 30-item interviewer-administered scale developed to evaluate occupational injustice experiences among refugee populations. The scale includes five subdomains: occupational deprivation, occupational alienation, occupational marginalization, occupational discrimination, and occupational imbalance. Higher total scores indicate higher levels of occupational injustice. The measure will be used to evaluate changes in participants' occupational justice perceptions following the intervention.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 5-week intervention period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)	Occupational performance and satisfaction will be evaluated using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The COPM is a client-centered, semi-structured assessment that measures individuals' perceived performance and satisfaction in self-care, productivity, and leisure activities. Participants identify meaningful activities and rate their performance and satisfaction on a 10-point scale. Higher scores indicate better perceived performance and greater satisfaction.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 5-week intervention period
World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0)	Overall functioning will be assessed using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0), 12-item interviewer-administered version. WHODAS 2.0 evaluates functioning across six domains, including cognition, mobility, self-care, interpersonal relationships, life activities, and participation. Higher scores indicate greater functional limitation.	Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 5-week intervention period

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kocaeli University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): March 5, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 28, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 8, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 1, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 1, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 11, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 9, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Refugees; Social participation; Occupational performance; Occupational justice; Community-based occupational therapy; Participatory Occupational Justice Framework
• Other Study ID Numbers: 61351342/020-120

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared due to the small sample size and the involvement of a vulnerable population (refugees), which may increase the risk of participant re-identification. Additionally, the data include sensitive personal and social information collected within a community-based intervention context. Data sharing was not included in the original ethical approval, and therefore IPD will not be made publicly available in order to protect participant confidentiality and privacy.

Drug and device information, study documents

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