A longitudinal study of mental health in refugees from Burma: The impact of therapeutic interventions

作者：van Wyk Sierra; Schweitzer Robert^*; Brough Mark; Vromans Lyn; Murray Kate

来源：Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2012, 46(10): 995-1003.

DOI：10.1177/0004867412443059

• Refugees
• mental health
• intervention studies
• evaluation
• Burma

Objective: The present study seeks to examine the impact of therapeutic interventions for people from refugee backgrounds within a naturalistic setting. %26lt;br%26gt;Methods: Sixty-two refugees from Burma were assessed soon after arriving in Australia. All participants received standard interventions provided by a resettlement organisation which included therapeutic interventions, assessment, social assistance, and referrals where appropriate. At the completion of service provision a follow-up assessment was conducted. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: Over the course of the intervention, participants experienced a significant decrease in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and somatisation. Pre-intervention symptoms predicted symptoms post-intervention for post-traumatic stress, anxiety and somatisation. Post-migration living difficulties, the number of traumas experienced, and the number of contacts with the service agency were unrelated to all mental health outcomes. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusions: In the first Australian study of its kind, reductions in mental health symptoms post-intervention were significantly linked to pre-intervention symptomatology and the number of therapy sessions predicted post-intervention symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Future studies need to include larger samples and control groups to verify findings.

• 出版日期2012-10