Investigating effective mental health treatments in Kenya
Official title: Effectiveness Research for Common Mental Disorders in Low and Middle Income Countries: A sequential, multiple assignment randomized trial for non-specialist treatment strategies in Kenya
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-10681458 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how regular healthcare workers in Kenya can help people with depression and anxiety get the right treatments they need, making mental health care easier to access for everyone.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | June 1, 2019 |
| Project end | June 30, 2025 |
| Funding year | 2023 |
| Award (this year) | $598,772 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH113722-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-10681458 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research include adults in Kenya suffering from major depressive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder who have limited access to mental health services.
✕Less likely to help
Patients outside of Kenya or those not experiencing common mental disorders like depression or anxiety may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research focuses on improving access to mental health care for common disorders like depression and anxiety in low and middle-income countries, particularly Kenya. It aims to determine how non-specialist healthcare providers can effectively deliver evidence-based treatments in real-world settings. The study will explore various treatment strategies, including personalized approaches, to address the high prevalence of mental health issues in primary care populations. By utilizing existing healthcare platforms, the research seeks to enhance treatment accessibility and effectiveness for those in need.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could significantly improve mental health outcomes for patients in low and middle-income countries by providing effective treatment strategies that are accessible and tailored to their needs.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown that non-specialists can effectively deliver mental health care in low-resource settings, indicating a promising approach for this study.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Meffert, Susan M. — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Meffert, Susan M.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Personalized chatbot to help community health workers deliver interpersonal counseling in Mozambique
A low-cost, chatbot-assisted program in Mozambique helps community health workers provide better interpersonal counseling for common mental disorders.
-
Stepped mental health care within HIV services for Mozambican youth living with HIV
A new approach tests how to integrate mental health care into HIV services for young people living with HIV in Mozambique using a stepped-care model.
-
Reducing diagnostic differences to keep mental health patients safer
A nationwide project at RAND aims to harmonize how clinicians diagnose mental disorders to prevent misdiagnoses and reduce harm from wrong medications.
-
Integrated peer-delivered mental health and HIV support for Mozambican youth with HIV
A new program tests a stepped-care model where peers help deliver mental health and HIV care to Mozambican youth living with HIV.
-
Causes and consequences of mental disorders: how parents shape their children
A parent-focused study uses genetic and environmental data to understand how parental traits influence children’s mental health and behavior.
-
Early Life Adversity and Brain Development in Children at Risk for Mental Disorders
This project follows children from birth to age 8 to understand how early social disadvantage and immune and gut health relate to brain development and later mental health risk.
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.