Measuring how ready community health workers are to provide mental health care
Official title: Readiness for Change Scale: Adaptation and Validation for Mental Health Task-Sharing
Funded at Tufts University Boston · NIH-10912835 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how ready community health workers are to help with mental health care, especially in places where resources are limited, and it will also make sure the tools they use are easy to understand and fit well with local culture.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Tufts University Boston NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2025 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $73,997 |
| NIH project number | 5R03MH132028-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-10912835 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research include community health workers and individuals in resource-limited settings who are involved in mental health care.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are not part of community health initiatives or those in high-resource settings may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research focuses on adapting and validating a tool called the Readiness for Change Scale to assess how prepared community health workers are to engage in mental health task-sharing. By involving non-specialist health workers, such as community health workers, the aim is to improve access to mental health care in resource-limited settings. The study will translate the scale into Marathi and ensure it is culturally relevant, which is crucial for its effectiveness in real-world applications. The research will also explore the factors that influence these workers' readiness to adopt mental health practices.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could enhance the effectiveness of mental health care delivery in underserved communities by ensuring that community health workers are adequately prepared to provide support.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown success in using task-sharing models for mental health care in low-resource settings, indicating that this approach has potential for positive outcomes.
Where this research is happening
-
Tufts University Boston
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dev, Saloni — Tufts University Boston
- Study coordinator: Dev, Saloni
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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.