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What works to prevent or reduce substance use among newcomer populations?

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What works to prevent or reduce substance use among newcomer populations?

Very strong evidence suggests that culturally adapted and family-centered substance use programs can be effective in immigrant and minority adolescents.

  • Incorporating some level of cultural adaptation into a substance use program (even just translating materials) is associated with more positive outcomes in minority adolescents than maintaining the original format of a program.
  • Programs that either included or just focused on parental participation had generally positive outcomes when looking at delaying or reducing substance use among adolescents.
  • Group- and/or school-based interventions appear to be the most common format among programs targeting adolescent substance use.

Strong evidence indicates culturally adapted programs can be more effective with newcomers, especially those already at higher risk.

  • Fully adapted programs appear to have at least slightly better outcomes than those that are only moderately adapted, and at least moderately better outcomes than programs that either are A. not adapted at all or B. only culturally adapted on the surface level.
  • There appear to be mixed results when looking at longer-term follow-ups, with some studies seeing greater reductions in substance use at later points and others seeing a drop off in positive results after six months.
  • Certain programs may be more effective for specific substances or with participants who were at higher risk at baseline.

Post TitleStrength of EvidenceType of StudyDirection of Evidence
Leveraging interactive voice response technology to mitigate COVID-19 risk in refugee settlements in Uganda: Lessons learned implementing “Dial COVID” a toll-free mobile phone symptom surveillance and information dissemination toolPositive impactSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Considerations about engaging volunteers in crisis managementsNo evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Factors related to immigrants’ disaster preparedness: A scoping reviewNo evidence about impactSystematic reviewNo evidence about impact
The role of first-line managers in a pandemic in reducing the spread of infections and promoting the health and well-being of Rohingya refugeesNo evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Localising public health: Refugee-led organisations as first and last responders in COVID-19No evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Project prepared: Building community through disaster preparedness in San Jose’s Japantown and Hensley Historic DistrictNo evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Reaching invisible and unprotected workers on farms during the coronavirus pandemicPositive impactSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Considerations for COVID-19 management in reception centers for refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, Spain 2020No evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Developing a disaster preparedness campaign targeting low-income Latino immigrants: focus group results for project PREP.No evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Medical interpreters and bilingual school staff: potential disaster information conduits?No evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Responding to a Mumps Outbreak Impacting Immigrants and Low-English-Proficiency Populations.Positive impactSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Global learning experiences during a domestic community health clinical.No evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Young people from refugee backgrounds as a resource for disaster risk reductionNo evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Pandemic influenza preparedness and response among immigrants and refugees.No evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Integrating Immigrant Families in Emergency Response, Relief and Rebuilding EffortsPositive impactSuggestive evidencePositive impact
A Bosnian Refugee Community’s Hidden Capacity in Preparation for a Natural Disaster in the United StatesNo evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Adaptation of a community health outreach model during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of the Mexican consulates in the United States of AmericaPositive impactSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Refugee-led organizations’ crisis response during the COVID-19 pandemicNo evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Brokering resources during a pandemic: Exploring how organizations and clinics responded to the needs of immigrant communities during COVID-19No evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Emergency preparedness: Knowledge and perceptions of Latin American immigrantsNo evidence about impactSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Promoting Community Preparedness and Resilience: A Latino Immigrant Community-Driven Project Following Hurricane Sandy.Positive impactSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Emergency Preparedness: Knowledge and Perceptions of Latin American ImmigrantsSuggestiveSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Promoting Community Preparedness and Resilience: A Latino Immigrant Community-Driven Project Following Hurricane SandySuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Developing a Disaster Preparedness Campaign Targeting Low-Income Latino Immigrants: Focus Group Results for Project PREPSuggestiveSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Medical Interpreters and Bilingual School Staff: Potential Disaster Information Conduits?SuggestiveSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Responding to a Mumps Outbreak Impacting Immigrants and Low-English-Proficiency PopulationsSuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Global Learning Experiences During a Domestic Community Health ClinicalSuggestiveSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Young People from Refugee Backgrounds as a Resource for Disaster Risk ReductionSuggestiveSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Among Immigrants and RefugeesSuggestiveSuggestive evidenceNo evidence about impact
Integrating Immigrant Families in Emergency Response, Relief, and Rebuilding EffortsSuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact

Studies included in the database focused on high-income or upper middle-income countries, including but not limited to the United States. Studies included must have been published since 2000. To identify evidence related to emergency preparedness among refugees, we searched the following websites and databases using the following population, methodology, and target problem terms:

Websites and Databases Population Terms Methodology Terms Target Problem Terms
Campbell Collaboration
Cochrane Collaboration
Mathematica Policy Research
Evidence Aid
Urban Institute
Migration Policy Institute
HHS OPRE
Medline
ASSIA
Social Services Abstracts
Social Work Abstracts
ReliefWeb
ALNAP
refugee
OR
immigrant
OR
“unaccompanied minor”
OR
asylee
OR
“temporary protected status”
OR
“victims of traffick*”
OR
“traffick*victims”
OR
T-Visa
OR
U-Visa
OR
Cuban
OR
Haitian
OR
Amerasian
evaluation
OR
impact
OR
program
OR
intervention
OR
policy
OR Project
OR
train*
OR
therapy
OR
treatment
OR
counseling
OR
workshop
OR
review
OR
meta-analysis
OR
synthesis
“disaster prepared*”
OR
“emergency prepared*”
OR
pandemic

For databases or websites that permitted only basic searches, free-text terms and limited term combinations were selected out of the lists above, and all resultant studies were reviewed for relevance. Conversely, for databases or websites with advanced search capability, we made use of relevant filters available. All search terms were searched in the title and abstract fields only in order to exclude studies that made only passing mention of the topic under consideration.

After initial screening, Switchboard evidence mapping is prioritized as follows:First priority is given to meta-analyses and systematic reviews, followed by individual impact evaluations when no meta-analyses or systematic reviews are available. Evaluations that are rated as impact evidence are considered before those rated as suggestive, with the latter only being included for outcomes where no evidence is available from the former. As noted earlier, for the present topic of refugee emergency preparedness, no meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or impact evaluations were available; thus,suggestive studies were included