Personalized AI Chatbot to Improve Delivery of Interpersonal Counseling for Common Mental Disorders in Mozambique
Official title: Employing a Personalized Chatbot to Improve Costs and Quality of Task- Shifted Delivery of Interpersonal Counseling for Common Mental Disorders in Community Settings in Mozambique
Funded at University of Texas at Austin · NIH-11307427 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A custom AI chatbot is being tested to help non-specialist health workers deliver better, more affordable interpersonal counseling for depression, anxiety, and PTSD in Mozambique.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas at Austin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Austin, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $124,784 |
| NIH project number | 1R21MH134282-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11307427 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults in Mozambique with common mental disorders (depression, anxiety, and PTSD) who participate in community-based IPC delivery pathways.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals not experiencing CMDs or those in settings without access to task-sharing IPC delivery may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project uses a mobile health chatbot to support task-shared care for common mental disorders in a low-resource setting. It aims to streamline training and certification of non-specialist providers and maintain high-quality care after certification. The study design includes a cluster randomized trial in community health settings to evaluate feasibility, cost, and effectiveness. If successful, the approach could expand access to evidence-based mental health care in Mozambique and similar settings by enabling scalable provider training and ongoing support.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could receive higher-quality counseling from trained non-specialist workers via a scalable, cost-effective approach.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary work shows promise for task-shared IPC delivery with mobile support improving care quality and reach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mootz, Jennifer — University of Texas at Austin
- Study coordinator: Mootz, Jennifer
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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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.
-
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Integrated peer-delivered mental health and HIV support for Mozambican youth with HIV
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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.