Improving Retention in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Interventions: An Analysis of Completion Rates across a Multi-Site Trial with Refugee, Migrant, and Host Communities in Latin America

Isabella Fernández Capriles*, Andrea Armijos, Alejandra Angulo, Matthew Schojan, Milton L. Wainberg, Annie G. Bonz, Wietse A. Tol, M. Claire Greene

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Research on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions within refugee and migrant communities has increasingly focused on evaluating implementation, including identifying strategies to promote retention in services. This study examines the relationship between participant characteristics, study setting, and reasons for intervention noncompletion using data from the Entre Nosotras feasibility trial, a community-based MHPSS intervention targeting refugee, migrant, and host community women in Ecuador and Panama that aimed to promote psychosocial wellbeing. Among 225 enrolled women, approximately half completed the intervention, with varying completion rates and reasons for nonattendance across study sites. Participants who were older, had migrated for family reasons, had spent more time in the study community, and were living in Panamá (vs. Ecuador) were more likely to complete the intervention. The findings suggest the need to adapt MHPSS interventions to consider the duration of access to the target population and explore different delivery modalities including the role of technology and cellular devices as reliable or unreliable source for engaging with participants. Engaging younger, newly arrived women is crucial, as they showed lower completion rates. Strategies such as consulting scheduling preferences, providing on-site childcare, and integrating MHPSS interventions with other programs could enhance intervention attendance.

Original languageEnglish
Article number397
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume21
Issue number4
Early online date25 Mar 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2024

Bibliographical note

This article belongs to the Special Issue: Community-Based Mental Health Promotion and Psychosocial Support.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.

Keywords

  • completion rate
  • feasibility
  • MHPSS interventions
  • refugee and migrant communities
  • retention

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