Refugee Mental Health Screening

Mental HealthRefugees arrive in the U.S. after experiencing trauma, loss, and long periods of uncertainty. For refugees with mental health issues, screening is a critical beginning step on the journey towards healing. Continue the dialogue from the RHTAC January 25, 2012 webinar, Tools and Strategies for Refugee Mental Health Screening: Introducing the RHS-15, presented by Dr. Michael Hollifield.

11 thoughts on “Refugee Mental Health Screening

  1. Michael McGrenra

    Hello: We are finding question #14 very awkward as it is formatted. Have you received any feedback re: that? Is it possible to re-format?
    Also, are versions in Arabic and Nepali available? If so, how can we obtain them?

    April 6, 2012 at 3:23 pm
    • Michael Hollifield

      Hi Michael; we have not yet had that feedback, but appreciate it. When translated by various groups, they through participatory research put it in terms and syntax that made sense to them. What language(s) are the difficult ones?

      April 10, 2012 at 1:44 am
      • Michael McGrenra

        Thank you for your response, Michael. We are finding when we use interpreters for Arabic and Nepali, they have a challenging time interpreting the question. As they interpret each line of the question, respondents get confused as if each line has an answer rather than an overall answer.

        April 25, 2012 at 8:18 am
  2. Tina Sang

    Good news! The RHS-15 tool (English version) is available for download from the RHTAC website. Click on the link below and scroll to the bottom of the page to “Additional Resources.”

    http://www.refugeehealstg.wpengine.com/webinars/tools-and-strategies-for-refugee-mental-health-screening-introducing-the-rhs-15-2/

    The RHS-15 is an open-access tool. Please complete the Utilization Agreement and return it to Pathways to Wellness.

    Pathways to Wellness currently has 7 bilingual versions of the RHS-15, which are in Karen, Burmese, Arabic, Nepali, Russian, Somali, and Tigriyna. Please contact Pathways to Wellness for more information on these bilingual versions. Contact information for Pathways to Wellness can be found on the Utilization Agreement.

    February 9, 2012 at 10:00 am
  3. AbdulKareem Al-Obaidi

    What are the current available language versions for RHS15 ?

    Thank you

    Kareem

    February 6, 2012 at 11:01 am
  4. Michele

    When will the RHS-15 screening be available? Thanks!

    January 30, 2012 at 12:40 pm
  5. Cathy Blake

    When will the actual screening tool RHS 15 be available?

    January 26, 2012 at 2:49 pm
    • Tina Sang

      Hi Cathy,

      Thank you for your patience as we at RHTAC work with Dr. Hollifield and his colleagues to post resources related to his webinar. The webinar resources, including the RHS-15 screening tool, will soon be available for download from the RHTAC webinar page (http://www.refugeehealstg.wpengine.com/webinars).

      January 27, 2012 at 4:52 pm
  6. Sasha Verbillis-Kolp

    Re: Translation of instruments- Many current health screening questionnaires (PHQ-9, Pediatric Symptom Checklist) are typically translated in one directions, and have not included an iterative community based process. During the development of the RHS-15 we engaged in an participatory and consensus based process that yielded culturally relevant expressions for each symptom item. While cultural equivalence is often not possible, shared meaning was achieved through this focus group methodology. The current available translations of the RHS-15 are: Karen, Burmese, Arabic, Nepali, Russian. Somali, Tigriyna, and others in discussion.

    January 25, 2012 at 2:37 pm
  7. Kathryn Falbo-Woodson

    Great information. Wish there was more information on national policies that enforce using screening tools and developing capacity at the state level, so that organizations like ours can better and more easily work with local health departments and initial screeners for refugees.

    January 25, 2012 at 2:15 pm