Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
Volume 51, Issue 9, 2006, Pages 587-597

Screening for major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder among asylum seekers: Adapting a standardized instrument to the social and cultural context (Article) (Open Access)

Durieux-Paillard S.* , Whitaker-Clinch B. , Bovier P.A. , Eytan A.
  • a Migrant Health Centre, Department of Community Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland, Migrant Health Centre, Department of Community Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, 89 rue de Lyon, CH-1203 Geneva, Switzerland
  • b Department of Community Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
  • c Adult Psychiatric Service, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
  • d Adult Psychiatric Service, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland

Abstract

Objective: To adapt the PTSD and MDE sections of a validated psychiatric diagnostic instrument, we used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) during an initial health assessment into a primary care facility for asylum seekers. Method: A 3-step process was carried out. First, items of the original version of the MINI were adapted to the specific context of life of asylum seekers in the host country (by a multidisciplinary group that included public health nurses, a primary care physician, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, and an epidemiologist). Second, we submitted the reworded and original versions of the MINI to 14 interpreters' who tested for general and cultural acceptability. Each diagnostic criterion was rated according to interpreters' comments on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = an item good for translation and 4 = an unusable or completely inadequate item). In the third step, we rephrased the most problematic items identified by the interpreters. Results: Some original items were considered particularly ill-adapted for this context, and 4 had to be dropped. This final rewording took into account cultural inadequacies and lack of structure (including temporal organization) of the everyday life of newly arrived asylum seekers. Conclusion: The reworded MINI was successfully tested, and its items are presented in the final part of the study.

Author Keywords

Screening Asylum seekers Posttraumatic stress disorders Depressive disorders Adaptation procedure

Index Keywords

nurse clinical feature human psychiatrist psychologist controlled study social aspect health status psychiatric diagnosis guilt screening test interview paresthesia avoidance behavior Adolescent diagnostic test cultural factor Article suicidal behavior major clinical study adult physician posttraumatic stress disorder medical specialist health care facility major depression primary health care
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-33748372778&doi=10.1177%2f070674370605100907&partnerID=40&md5=bbf85786aec562fd702aa49cd1f313ed
DOI: 10.1177/070674370605100907
ISSN: 07067437
Cited by: 12
Original Language: English