CHW Central

A global resource for and about Community Health Workers

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)

Problem-solving therapy for depression and common mental disorders in Zimbabwe: piloting a task-shifting primary mental health care intervention in a population with a high prevalence of people living with HIV

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There is limited evidence that interventions for depression and other common mental disorders (CMD) can be integrated sustainably into primary health care in Africa. We aimed to pilot a low-cost multi-component 'Friendship Bench Intervention' for CMD, locally adapted from problem-solving therapy and delivered by trained and supervised female lay workers to learn if was feasible … [Read more...] about Problem-solving therapy for depression and common mental disorders in Zimbabwe: piloting a task-shifting primary mental health care intervention in a population with a high prevalence of people living with HIV

Community-based accompaniment and psychosocial health outcomes in HIV-infected adults in Rwanda: a prospective study

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We examined whether the addition of community-based accompaniment to Rwanda's national model for antiretroviral treatment (ART) was associated with greater improvements in patients' psychosocial health outcomes during the first year of therapy. We enrolled 610 HIV-infected adults with CD4 cell counts under 350 cells/μL initiating ART in one of two programs. Both programs … [Read more...] about Community-based accompaniment and psychosocial health outcomes in HIV-infected adults in Rwanda: a prospective study

Detection of antenatal depression in rural HIV-affected populations with short and ultrashort versions of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)

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Approaches that incorporate CHWs in the detection and management of perinatal mental disorders have shown potential, with research demonstrating the capacity of CHWs to deliver treatment for both HIV (Selke et al. 2010) and maternal depression (Rahman 2005; Rahman et al. 2008). However, actualizing this potential at a larger scale requires short, effective screening measures to … [Read more...] about Detection of antenatal depression in rural HIV-affected populations with short and ultrashort versions of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)