Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to use COPC as an approach to assess/study a migrant's community problem. The study had the following objectives: To assess the health situation and problems of Arab migrant women, to study one problem with its related severity/scores, sources, and associated factors; to plan an intervention program/methods to deal with this problem and to work on reducing it; to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention activities; and to come out with recommendations for future service delivery for migrants.

Study questions: Is COPC approach an effective method to investigate the problems of a migrant population in Germany? Through the application of the COPC approach, what is the problem of highest priority that Arab women face as migrants living here in Germany? How can this problem be reduced through an intervention program and does this program have an effect?

Study design: A cross-sectional study using a six-step COPC approach in order to study a problem that was chosen by the migrant community. These six steps are: community definition; community diagnosis; prioritization; detailed assessment; intervention and evaluation.

Methodology: The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Five focus groups (41 participants), one open group discussion (43 attendants) and 11 key informant interviews. Then a questionnaire including the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) instrument was carried with 116 women and repeated with 46 women for testing post-intervention effects.

Main findings: This study found out that COPC is a practical method to study the needs of a migrant community. The one sample T-Test showed that women scored higher than the normative scores on most items of SCL-90-R (P value less than 0.001). Factors associated with higher stress scores were: older age, having more children, North African origin, having illness, and feeling negatively being a migrant. Factors associated with lower stress scores were: higher level of education, living longer in Germany, and performing physical exercise. The best model for predicting being a case of stress on SCL-90-R (Cut point: General Severity Index "GSI" more than 0.77) was the one that included being ill the day of answering the questionnaire, shorter stay in Germany and feeling negatively being a migrant (minority status). The accuracy of this model was 66.4 percent, positive percent 79.3 and negative percent 53.4. The paired sample T-Test showed that physical and cognitive methods had effects on reducing stress scores (P value below 0.001).

Conclusion: Migration is a stressful experience and Arab migrant women have high psychological stress. Physical and cognitive intervention methods can assist in reducing stress scores. COPC is discussed to be a practical approach in involving the community to identify its own needs.