STUDY PROTOCOL article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1623903
This article is part of the Research TopicCaregiving for Older Adults within Community SettingsView all 14 articles
Exploring Peer Education for Migrant Informal Caregivers of Mentally Ill Loved Ones: A Realist Evaluation Protocol
Provisionally accepted
- 1Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 2Indigo Preventie Rijnmond, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Informal caregivers with a migration background who care for someone with a mental illness often experience elevated caregiver burdens due to factors such as discrimination, language barriers, and stigma. In The Netherlands, a peer education intervention called 'They Aren't Mental?!' (TANM) addresses these challenges by reducing stigma, increasing help-seeking behaviours, and improving access to healthcare. This transdisciplinary study evaluates how contextual factors and mechanisms influence its outcomes.Description: This research protocol outlines a realist evaluation of the intervention using a mixedmethods design, including interviews, post-questionnaires, and observations. The study will develop and refine the program theory to determine for whom, in what contexts, why, and how the intervention works.Discussion: This protocol shows how we plan to investigate how, why, for whom and under what circumstances TANM produces its intended outcomes, using a realist evaluation approach. This approach is well-suited for evaluating complex interventions because it accommodates for dynamic and iterative interventions. Its focus is on understanding patterns and mechanisms within specific contexts, using program theories.The evaluation of TANM will inform future intervention adaptations and guide future efforts to support vulnerable populations, particularly migrants navigating caregiving challenges.
Keywords: Informal caregivers, Migration background, mental illness, Mental Health, peer education, Integrated Care, Realist evaluation
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 16 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hollaar, Kocken, Uysal-Bozkir, Smedts and Denktas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Malin Hollaar, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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