CHWs and Mental Health

The effectiveness of Technology-assisted Cascade Training and Supervision of community health workers in delivering the Thinking Healthy Program for perinatal depression in a post-conflict area of Pakistan: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Rates of perinatal depression in low and middle-income countries are reported to be very high. Perinatal depression not only has a profound impact on women’s health, disability and functioning, it is associated with poor child health outcomes such as pre-term birth, under-nutrition, and stunting, which ultimately have an adverse trans-generational impact. There is strong … [Read more...] about The effectiveness of Technology-assisted Cascade Training and Supervision of community health workers in delivering the Thinking Healthy Program for perinatal depression in a post-conflict area of Pakistan: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Ebola has exacerbated mental health issues in Liberia as the outbreak has ravaged the mental and physical health of the population and health workers, including at the Mental Health Unit at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Through the use of mHero, the Ministry is developing use casees to find out more information from mental health clinicans. … [Read more...] about Spotlight on MHero: connecting with frontline health workers about mental health services in Liberia

Growing evidence supports the use of Western therapies for the treatment of depression, trauma, and stress delivered by community health workers in conflict-affected, resource-limited countries. A recent randomized control trial (Bolton et al 2014a) supported the efficacy of two CHW-delivered interventions, cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and brief … [Read more...] about Adaptation of community health worker-delivered behavioral activation for torture survivors in Kurdistan, Iraq

Globally, mental health disorders, including harmful alcohol and substance use, are the leading causes of years lost to disability, accounting for up to 189 million disability-adjusted life years annually. Depression accounts for up to 50% of disability-adjusted life years caused by mental health disorders, while alcohol and substance use accounts for up to 10%. It is estimated … [Read more...] about Integrating mental health and HIV services in Zimbabwean communities: A nurse and community-led approach reach the most vulnerable

Maternal antenatal depression has long-term consequences for children’s health. We examined if home visits by community health workers (CHW) can improve growth outcomes for children of mothers who are antenatally depressed. Maternal and child health intervention strategies have tended to address only one health risk at a time. As a result many studies provide little insight … [Read more...] about Community health workers can improve child growth of antenatally-depressed, South African mothers: a cluster randomized controlled trial