Supported Employment for Refugees (SER)

NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS

Status: Completed

Conditions: Refugees

Treatments: Behavioral: Supported Employment (SE); Behavioral: Treatment as usual (TAU)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03629366

811270

Details and patient eligibility

About

Humanitarian crises related to the Syrian conflict have led to a large increase in refugees in Europe in the recent years. There is need for effective approaches to increase labor market participation among refugees, and to reduce the impact of unfavorable exclusion mechanisms among this group. The Supported Employment for Refugees (the SER-trial) is a randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of Supported Employment (SE) for newly arrived refugees who are involved in the mandatory introduction program provided for all refugees in Norway. SE is an intervention that has proved effective in promoting competitive employment among patients with severe mental illness in over twenty international randomized controlled trials, and is currently being evaluated for various new patient groups in ongoing trials. The SER-trial is however the first trial to evaluate the effect of SE for the target group of refugees (who may or may not have mental illness).

Enrollment: 66 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Refugees in the city of Bergen, Norway
• Expressed desire to work
• Able to have a simple conversation in Norwegian or English

Exclusion criteria

• No expressed desire to work
• Unable to have a simple conversation in Norwegian or English

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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66 participants in 2 patient groups

Supported Employment (SE)

Experimental group

Description:

Follow-up with Supported Employment (SE), provided by a job specialist trained in the eight evidence-based principles of Individual Placement and Support (IPS). The SE intervention is provided in addition to the mandatory introduction program for refugees in Norway (treatment as usual).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Supported Employment (SE)

Treatment as usual (TAU)

Active Comparator group

Description:

Follow-up with treatment as usual, which involves participation in the mandatory introduction program provided for all refugees in Norway. The program includes training in Norwegian language and culture, as well as the various traditional employment schemes offered by the Norwegian labor and welfare Administration.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Treatment as usual (TAU)