Digital dashboard to support family mental health interventions in Rwanda
Official title: An mHealth Digital Dashboard for Quality Delivery of Evidence-based Interventions Promoting Family Mental Health and Functioning in Rwanda. A Hybrid Type III Study with Insights for the US
Funded at Boston College · NIH-11385426 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A digital dashboard will help deliver an evidence-based family intervention for mental health and child development in Rwanda, with insights that could inform care in the US.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chestnut Hill, United States) |
| Project start | July 2, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $540,046 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH136200-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11385426 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Families with young children (0-11) and adult caregivers in Rwanda who participate in Sugira Muryango and interact with the digital dashboard.
✕Less likely to help
Families not engaging with the intervention or lacking access to digital tools may see limited benefit.
What this research studies
This project will test how a mobile-friendly dashboard helps implement Sugira Muryango, a trauma-informed family program, by tracking quality and reach, guiding caregiver referrals, and supporting training for interventionists. It combines real-world data collection with an implementation-and-effectiveness approach to see if the program improves parental well-being, child development, and reduced family violence. The study will measure delivery quality, feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes among participants in Rwanda, with lessons that may inform broader adoption in other settings including the US. The hybrid design aims to generate practical insights for scaling evidence-based family interventions in low-resource contexts where war and violence affect families.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, families could experience better parental mental health, healthier family dynamics, and improved outcomes for young children, with a scalable model for wider implementation.
How similar studies have gone: Previous trials using Sugira Muryango showed improvements in parental mental health and child development, supporting this approach as promising.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Betancourt, Theresa Stichick — Boston College
- Study coordinator: Betancourt, Theresa Stichick
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.