Community Health Workers Against COVID19

University Ghent

Status: Completed

Conditions: Covid 19; Mental Health Impairment; Social Isolation

Treatments: Other: community health worker support; Other: care as usual

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04426305

BC-07744.

Details and patient eligibility

About

Randomized controlled trial among patients from family practices at risk of psychosocial suffering due to social distancing measures. Patients from the intervention group receive support from community health workers. contacted at least 8 times by community health workers. Evolution of psychosocial wellbeing is evaluated by questionnaires at time 0 and after 6 weeks of intervention. Psychosocial outcomes are compared between control and intervention groups. Process evaluation will be done through in-depth interviews.

Full description

Patients vulnerable for psychosocial suffering due to social distancing measures are recruited by family practitioners in the City of Ghent. The recruited patients are randomly selected into a control and intervention group. Based on the validated Promis instruments, all participants are interviewed face to face on their mental and social health at time 0 and after 6 weeks of intervention. Patients from the intervention group are contacted by Community health workers after the first interview. Community health workers offer emotional support to the patients through at least 8 contacts over 6 weeks. The control group receive care as usual and are offered support by community health workers after the second interview. In depth interviews (qualitative study) will be conducted among community health workers and patients after finalizing the post-intervention questionnaires.

Research questions: What are the psychosocial consequences of social distancing for at-risk groups? Can community health workers reduce the psychosocial impact of physical distancing measures isolation?

Relevance: Understanding community-based psychosocial support for vulnerable people during and after health crises.

Keywords: Community health workers, psychosocial, health crises

Enrollment: 140 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• patients recruited by family practitioners based on anticipated psychosocial impact of physical distancing measures

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with severe psychiatric diseases (psychosis, severe depression)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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140 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention arm

Experimental group

Description:

psychosocial support

Treatment:

Other: community health worker support

control arm

Active Comparator group

Description:

care as usual

Treatment:

Other: care as usual