Mobile phone support to help people with HIV manage depression, anxiety, alcohol use, and high blood pressure in Uganda
An mHealth implementation strategy to address the syndemic of mental illness, hypertension, and HIV in Uganda
This work uses phone-based tools to help people living with HIV in Uganda get mental health care and blood-pressure support alongside their HIV treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11401483 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you have HIV and go to one of the participating clinics in Uganda, this project will use mobile phone tools to screen for and help manage depression, anxiety, alcohol problems, and high blood pressure alongside your HIV care. The system is designed to reduce extra work for busy clinic staff by automating screening, reminders, and connections to local care pathways through an app or SMS messages. Researchers will work with clinic teams to adapt the tools to local needs, train staff, and try them out in real clinic settings. The project focuses on how these conditions interact with each other and with social issues like stigma and poverty to provide more coordinated care.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults living with HIV in Uganda who attend participating clinics and who have symptoms of depression, anxiety, problematic alcohol use, or high blood pressure, and who can use or access a mobile phone.
Not a fit: People who do not have access to a mobile phone, who are not receiving care at participating clinics in Uganda, or who need urgent psychiatric or medical care may not benefit from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could make it easier for people with HIV to get timely treatment for mental health conditions, alcohol problems, and high blood pressure without overburdening clinic staff.
How similar studies have performed: Previous mobile-health and task-sharing programs have improved HIV care and mental health services in sub-Saharan Africa, but combining those approaches to address HIV together with mental illness, alcohol use, and hypertension as a linked syndemic is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
New Haven, United States
- Yale University — New Haven, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schwartz, Jeremy Ian — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Schwartz, Jeremy Ian
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 below.