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NCT Number: NCT07452874

Community-Based Occupational Therapy for Syrian Refugees to Improve Social Participation and Occupational Justice

This study aims to examine the effects of a community-based occupational therapy intervention on occupational justice, participation in daily life activities, occupational performance, satisfaction, and overall functioning among Syrian refugees living in Turkey. Refugees frequently encounter social, economic, and environmental barriers that restrict their engagement in meaningful daily activities and negatively affect their sense of autonomy, belonging, and participation. Addressing these complex challenges requires interventions that extend beyond individual skill development and actively target social participation, access to community resources, and justice in everyday occupations.

In this study, a structured community-based occupational therapy intervention has been developed based on the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework. The intervention is designed to enhance participants' access to community resources, support engagement in meaningful daily activities, strengthen social participation, and promote empowerment and self-determination. The program consists of group-based, activity-oriented sessions implemented within real-life community settings to facilitate contextualized learning and participation.

A total of 16 adult Syrian refugees are planned to be enrolled in the study and assigned to either an intervention group or a control group using a parallel-group design. Participants in the intervention group will receive a five-week community-based occupational therapy program comprising ten structured sessions. Participants in the control group will receive a single informational session focusing on daily life and available services in Turkey. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and immediately after the intervention using standardized measures of occupational justice, occupational performance and satisfaction, participation in daily activities, and overall functioning.

The findings of this study are expected to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of community-based occupational therapy interventions in promoting occupational justice, participation, and functional well-being among refugee populations. The results are also anticipated to contribute to the development of rights-based, inclusive, and participation-focused rehabilitation practices for forcibly displaced communities.

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Key information

Conditions

Refugees Occupational Injustice

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Being a Syrian refugee,
  • Being 18 years of age or older,
  • Having sufficient Turkish language proficiency to communicate effectively,
  • Willingness to participate in the study voluntarily and providing written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Inability to communicate in Turkish,
  • Presence of a cognitive or neurological condition that may interfere with communication or participation in the assessment
  • Presence of a serious health condition that may prevent regular attendance at the intervention or educational sessions.

Treatment and study plan

Community-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention

Behavioral

This intervention is a structured community-based occupational therapy program developed based on the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework. The program is designed to support Syrian refugees' engagement in meaningful daily activities, improve access to community resources, enhance social participation, and promote empowerment and self-determination.

The intervention consists of ten group-based sessions delivered over five weeks in community settings. Sessions include activity-based learning, guided group discussions, skills development, and experiential participation in real-life contexts. The content focuses on daily life activities, social roles, community participation, stress management, and access to social and institutional resources.

The intervention is delivered by an occupational therapist and emphasizes participatory, rights-based, and culturally sensitive approaches to address occupational injustice and support functional well-being.

Other names: Participatory Occupational Justice-Based Occupational Therapy Program

Information Session on Daily Life in Turkey

Behavioral

This intervention consists of a single, standardized informational session provided to participants in the control group. The session includes general information about daily life in Turkey, such as basic social, cultural, and institutional structures. No occupational therapy intervention, skill training, or activity-based therapeutic content is provided. The session is intended to control for attention and contact time without influencing occupational performance, participation, or occupational justice outcomes.

Primary outcomes

  1. Occupational Justice Scale for Refugees (OJS-R)

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 5-week intervention period

    Occupational justice will be assessed using the Occupational Justice Scale for Refugees (OJS-R), a 30-item interviewer-administered scale developed to evaluate occupational injustice experiences among refugee populations. The scale includes five subdomains: occupational deprivation, occupational alienation, occupational marginalization, occupational discrimination, and occupational imbalance. Higher total scores indicate higher levels of occupational injustice. The measure will be used to evaluate changes in participants' occupational justice perceptions following the intervention.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 5-week intervention period

    Occupational performance and satisfaction will be evaluated using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). The COPM is a client-centered, semi-structured assessment that measures individuals' perceived performance and satisfaction in self-care, productivity, and leisure activities. Participants identify meaningful activities and rate their performance and satisfaction on a 10-point scale. Higher scores indicate better perceived performance and greater satisfaction.

  2. World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0)

    Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and immediately after the 5-week intervention period

    Overall functioning will be assessed using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0), 12-item interviewer-administered version. WHODAS 2.0 evaluates functioning across six domains, including cognition, mobility, self-care, interpersonal relationships, life activities, and participation. Higher scores indicate greater functional limitation.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Muhammed Rohat Yazici, Dr.

CONTACT

[email protected]

+44 7424844545

Rohat Yazici, Dr

CONTACT

[email protected]

+44 7424844545

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Kocaeli University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

The Effect of a Community-Based Occupational Therapy Intervention on Occupational Justice and Social Participation in Syrian Refugees: A Non-Invasive Clinical Study

Acronym: COT-SYR-25

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Mar 5, 2026
Registry last updated
Jul 9, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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