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Category: Project

Description: REFUGeXpand is an extension of the 2018 REFUGE-study, a cross-sectional, nationwide, survey-study focusing on migration related stress and mental health among Syrian refugees resettled in Norway. The study’s sample frame was defined by the following three criteria: 1) age over 18 years; 2) refugee from Syria; 3) granted residency rights in Norway between 1st Jan 2015 and 31st Dec 2017. Of the roughly 14,200 individuals who met these criteria in the Norwegian population registry, 10,000 were selected to receive study invitations via simple random sampling, of which 902 ultimately participated. Three waves of data-collections were initially planned, however, due to a low response rate at wave 1, the second and third waves were cancelled. Important open-access publications from the REFUGE-study, including a cohort profile paper which describes design, participants and other methodological elements of the study, are uploaded in the "Files" section below. The study was preregistered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03742128, link provided under Wiki). REFUGeXpand builds on this initial study in several ways, extending the sample and types of data available. A mixed-methods, cohort-based project, it comprises several sub-studies and study populations: -- REFUGE-cohort, n=902: all participants from the 2018 survey-based REFUGE-study -- RBMI-cohort, n=14,200: the sampling frame for the REFUGE-study, i.e., all Syrian refugees being resettled in Norway between January 1st, 2015 and December 31st, 2017 -- NORpop, n=10,000; a control population randomly drawn from the Norwegian population registry -- Smaller qualitative samples comprised of both Syrian and Ukrainian refugees The project will use multiple data sources, including longitudinal registry data on demographic factors, primary and specialist healthcare service utilization, drug prescription and work participation/marginalization, all of which will be linked for the overall study sample consisting of Syrian refugees and the Norwegian control population (n=24,200). We will also link these registry data to survey data from the REUFGE-study (n=902) to allow more detailed investigations. In addition, qualitative interviews will be conducted separately. The overall aim of the project is to explore how pre- and peri-migration stressful experiences (e.g., exposure to torture or other potentially traumatic experiences) intersect with post-migration factors/stressors (e.g., financial difficulties) and intra-individual risk- and protective factors to shape long-term health and integration trajectories. Multiple publications are planned for the REFUGeXpand project and they are/will be pre-registered as "Components" of this main registration (please see "Components" section for details) The project will generate valuable evidence of relevance to policymakers, healthcare providers and other stakeholders, which may ultimately positively impact health and integration in resettled refugees in Norway and beyond.