HOME - WHO Model region Mental Health
Description
- Refugees may have a high need for psychosocial support and may show symptoms of mental health problems resulting from their flight and traumatic experiences in their country of origin. However, the majority of those who show signs of psychological distress and who need help do not receive the care they need. Reasons for that range from stigma and language barriers to limited access to appropriate care. The “Problem Management Plus” (PM+) intervention developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) is a low intensity psychological intervention that aims to reduce psychological distress among populations exposed to adversities. What makes PM+ unique is that it is delivered by trained lay people that share the same language and cultural background as participants. This approach may facilitate access to care and builds trust in the intervention. PM+ has been thoroughly assessed in numerous projects around the world, including among refugee populations, and the results confirm its effectiveness. In Germany, however, no sustained implementation of PM+ has yet taken place.
The HOME project therefore aims to implement and test PM+ specifically among refugees in Germany. The focus hereby is not only to test implementation of PM+ in Bremen, but also to gain a better understanding of how it can be optimized and adapted to the local context. Another goal of the project is to develop implementation guidelines that can serve as basis for introducing PM+ in other regions of Germany. Therefore, barriers and facilitators for the implementation of PM+ will be identified and suitable implementation strategies will be developed and tested in order to ensure a sustained implementation of PM+.
Funding period
- Begin: October 2025
End: September 2028
Sponsor
- Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)