Many refugees have survived war trauma, including torture. Refugees and asylum seekers who have survived such trauma often suffer from social and psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and symptoms of depression that threaten overall health and exacerbate the risk of experiencing increased health disparities. Minnesota is home to a large population of refugees and asylum seekers, has the largest population of Somali people in the U.S., and has one of the largest Ethiopian Oromo communities. Access to conventional mental health and social services is limited and, where available, may not be accepted by many affected persons. There is a need to provide services that are both acceptable and accessible to refugee war trauma survivors. The Health Realization intervention is a community oriented, educational intervention that shows promising results in a variety of settings and populations, including high-risk and traumatized individuals and groups. Based on a resilience framework, this intervention assists people to put intrusive thoughts in a manageable perspective and improve their daily functioning. The objective of this one-year project is to develop a written protocol and appropriate materials for using the Health Realization intervention in populations of refugee war trauma survivors, assessing feasibility and acceptability of the intervention in two groups of refugee women from Somalia and Ethiopia (Oromo). As an aspect of feasibility testing, the Refugee Resilience Scale (RRS) instrument for assessing resilience among East African refugees will be translated and tested for cultural relevance. Additional outcomes of this project include the translated materials and instruments that can be used as is or adapted for use in other groups. The long-term goal is to prepare for a full-scale trial of this intervention to increase resilience and inner resources among refugee war trauma survivors in these and other ethnic groups.
