Collaborative mental health care for pregnant and new mothers with HIV in Kenya

Integration of a collaborative care model for mental health services into HIV care for pregnant and postpartum women in Kenya (the Tunawiri Study)

NIH-funded research University of Colorado Denver · NIH-11091626

This project will bring mental health support into regular HIV and antenatal care to help pregnant and postpartum women with HIV manage depression, anxiety, stigma, and partner violence.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of Colorado Denver NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES)
Project IDNIH-11091626 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

If you are pregnant or recently had a baby and living with HIV, this program would add mental health help directly into the clinics you already visit. Care would be provided by trained peer mentor mothers and non-specialist behavioral care managers, with support from psychiatric nurses and a consulting psychiatrist. The approach uses a collaborative care model plus a brief problem-solving therapy to address depression and anxiety while also targeting stigma and intimate partner violence. Researchers will follow how well the services work, how much they cost, and how they might be sustained in routine clinic care.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are pregnant or postpartum women living with HIV who attend participating antenatal or HIV clinics in Kenya and are experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety.

Not a fit: People who do not have HIV, are not pregnant or postpartum, live outside the program clinics in Kenya, or need urgent inpatient psychiatric care are unlikely to benefit directly from this program.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could improve mothers' mood and anxiety, help people stay engaged in HIV care, and support better health for both mothers and babies.

How similar studies have performed: Collaborative care and problem-solving therapy have helped people with depression in other settings, but embedding these services into routine antenatal HIV care in Kenya is relatively new and focused on implementation.

Where this research is happening

Aurora, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome VirusAcquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Virus
Last reviewed 2026-06-10 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.