Personalized chatbot to help community health workers deliver interpersonal counseling 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-11535845 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A low-cost, chatbot-assisted program in Mozambique helps community health workers provide better interpersonal counseling for common mental disorders.
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) | $47,009 |
| NIH project number | 3R21MH134282-01A1S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11535845 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Community members in Mozambique with common mental disorders who are receiving or eligible for task-shared interpersonal counseling from trained non-specialist providers.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without CMD symptoms or those not engaged with community-based counseling programs.
What this research studies
In Mozambique, this project uses a personalized AI chatbot to support non-specialist workers who deliver interpersonal counseling for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The aim is to make certification affordable and to keep quality high after training, using a mobile health app as a coaching and support tool. The study will test a cluster-randomized design in community settings to see if the chatbot improves adherence and outcomes compared with usual training methods. It focuses on scalability, cost-effectiveness, and real-world implementation in a resource-constrained health system.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with CMDs could receive higher-quality, more accessible counseling through trained non-specialists supported by AI.
How similar studies have gone: Previous efforts show that task-sharing can expand access to care, and mobile health tools can support provider performance, though this exact chatbot approach is being tested.
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
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Early Life Adversity and Brain Development in Children at Risk for Mental Disorders
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Personalized AI Chatbot to Improve Delivery of Interpersonal Counseling for Common Mental Disorders in Mozambique
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.
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.