P028 Treating Sleep Disturbances in Refugees – Preliminary Results from a randomized controlled pilot trial on the group therapy program Sleep Training Adapted for Refugees (STARS)

Abstract

Abstract Sleep disturbances are both highly prevalent and often persistent even after otherwise successful treatment in traumatized refugees. The need for scalable, adaptable, and easily disseminated interventions has been highlighted. Existing evidence-based treatments do not sufficiently account for the special needs of refugees and asylum seekers. The group therapy program STARS expands and complements evidence-based treatment approaches (e.g., CBT-I, IRT) with a culturally and context-sensitive approach. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the intervention. A randomized-controlled study using a parallel group design (STARS vs. waitlist) with 47 young male Afghan refugees was conducted in a routine clinical setting (DRKS-ID: DRKS00024419) comparing pre- to post and a 3-month follow-up assessment. Insomnia symptoms (ISI) were defined as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included PCL-5, HSCL-25, NDI, FOSI-SF and EUROHIS-QOL. Acceptability was measured via client satisfaction and treatment adherence. The data are analyzed using mixed models. Preliminary results indicate that dropout (18%) was comparable to other interventions with refugees. Participants who completed the intervention attended M = 7.93 out of 10 sessions (SD = 1.88). Results on the effectiveness are still pending. STARS seems to be a feasible intervention for sleep disturbances in traumatized refugees in a routine clinical setting. Depending on its effectiveness it might be a promising intervention to enhance scalable treatment both as a low-threshold primary care intervention as well as a potential add-on to PTSD-focused treatment. To draw final conclusions replication in large-scale studies with active control groups will be necessary.