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Mental Health Paraprofessional Training for Filipina Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore: Feasibility and Effects on Knowledge About Depression and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Skills

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2020

M.H.M. Wong ,
S.L. Keng ,
P.J.B. Buck ,
T. Ostbye ,
A. Wessels  and
S. Suthendran
M.H.M. Wong
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore and University of Melbourne, Department of Psychology, Singapore, Singapore
S.L. Keng
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore, Department of Psychology, Singapore, Singapore
P.J.B. Buck
Affiliation:
Portland DBT Institute, Portland DBT Institute, Portland, USA
T. Ostbye
Affiliation:
Duke University, School of Medicine, North Carolina, USA
A. Wessels
Affiliation:
Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, Singapore, Singapore
S. Suthendran
Affiliation:
Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, Singapore, Singapore

Abstract

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Introduction

Approximately one in every five Singaporean households employs Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) (Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics [Home], 2015). Mental health problems, especially depression, are prevalent among FDWs in Singapore (HOME, 2015). Yet, there is a lack of empirically-supported interventions to address their mental health needs.

Objective

To train FDWs as mental health paraprofessionals with selected CBT skills for depression, which may enable them to provide basic assistance to their fellow domestic workers with depressive symptoms.

Aims

To present and assess the effectiveness and acceptability of a 4 weekly 3-hour group CBT-based paraprofessional training program for FDWs.

Methods

Participants were randomized into either an intervention or a wait-list control group. Participants in the wait-list group received the training after the intervention group completed the training. Both groups completed questionnaires assessing attitudes towards seeking psychological help; stigma towards people with depression; self-confidence in delivering CBT; general self-efficacy; knowledge of depression and CBT before, immediately after, and two months following the training.

Results

Thirty-eight out of 40 participants completed the program. Both groups did not differ on changes in any of the outcome variables. However, within-group analyses showed improved attitudes towards seeking professional health for mental health issues; greater depression literacy; and CBT knowledge following the training. These changes were sustained at 2-month follow-up. All participants indicated high level of satisfaction with the program.

Conclusions

These preliminary results highlight the potential effectiveness and feasibility of implementing the training as a stepped-care mental health service to address the high rate of depression among the FDW community.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Type
e-Poster viewing: Migration and mental health of immigrants
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 41 , Issue S1: Abstract of the 25th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2017 , pp. S626
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2017
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