Improving digital mental health services with and for national minority, Indigenous and refugee youth in Norway: The InvolveMENT research project protocol (Preprint)
Authors: Viksveen Petter , Ree Eline , Bjønness Stig , Hansen Ketil Lenert , Meldahl Laia , Krijger-Plagnol Lou , Relton Clare , Cornaglia Francesca , Berg Siv Hilde , Hodne Riska Solveig , Røislien Jo , Aase Karina , Salamonsen Anita 
Published: November 2024

BACKGROUND

Worldwide, minority youth less commonly receive culturally sensitive mental health services than the majority peer population. In Norway, limited research exists on the mental health and service use among youth from national minority (Forrest Finns, Kven/Norwegian Finns, Jews, Roma, and Romani), Indigenous (Sámi), and refugee backgrounds. Although the Norwegian government provides a public communication channel for youth, including mental health information and support, digital services have not been adapted to meet the needs of these groups. There is no research to determine the use, acceptability, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety of these services for these youth.

OBJECTIVE

The main aim of the InvolveMENT project is to improve the mental health of national minority, Indigenous and refugee youth. The project’s objectives are, for these groups of youth, to: (1) Determine mental health and digital support needs, and possible barriers and facilitators to service use; (2) Assess use of and satisfaction with digital services to meet their mental health needs; (3) Explore their perspectives on digital mental health services; (4) Develop recommendations which can be used to adapt digital services to meet their needs and rights; and (5) Assess the use, acceptability, satisfaction, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety of adapted services.

METHODS

The four-year InvolveMENT project consists of four phases: 1) Establishing a longitudinal cohort consisting of national minority, Indigenous and refugee youth, using surveys to assess their mental health, wellbeing, digital support needs, utilization and satisfaction with digital services, and possible barriers and facilitators to service use. 2) Conducting qualitative interviews with minority youth to explore their perspectives, and synthesizing data from phase 1 and 2 for a mixed methods analysis. 3) Involving youth, and healthcare and other professionals to develop proposals to adapt and improve the existing digital services. 4) A randomized controlled trial (RCT) and a qualitative study to evaluate the adapted services.

RESULTS

Cohort and qualitative study designs are completed. An ethics application has been submitted, and recruitment is scheduled to begin after its approval.

CONCLUSIONS

The InvolveMENT project has the potential to enhance the accessibility and quality of healthcare services, early interventions, reduce inequality in service provision for minority groups, and strengthen collaboration between youth, public and research organizations. Through this, it has the potential to improve mental health of youth from these groups. Findings might be transferable to other minority groups, both nationally and internationally.

CLINICALTRIAL

ISRCTN21223142. Available at https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN21223142