Practical measures to improve access to mental health care in low-resource areas
Official title: Developing measures to improve access to integrated mental health care services in under-resourced global settings
Funded at Boston Medical Center · NIH-11400597 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will create usable measures to help health systems in Peru and similar low-resource communities find and fix gaps in mental health care for people living with HIV and other community members.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 3, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $52,214 |
| NIH project number | 3R34MH137223-02S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11400597 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adults in under-resourced Peruvian communities — including people living with HIV — who use or help provide mental health services.
✕Less likely to help
People outside the study areas (for example, not in participating Peruvian clinics) or anyone needing immediate individual clinical treatment are unlikely to get direct benefits from this measurement-focused project.
What this research studies
Researchers will work with local communities and health workers in Peru to co-design simple, locally appropriate measures using existing clinic and community data. They will combine interviews, focus groups, and health record reviews to understand where care is missing and what data are already available. The team will pilot the new measurement tools in selected clinics to see if they help managers decide where to send staff and resources. The focus is on tools that fit local limits and could later be scaled up to guide system-wide improvements.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these measures could help clinics and health systems better target resources and expand access to mental health care for people with HIV and others in under-resourced areas.
How similar studies have gone: Community-engaged and mixed-methods projects have helped implement mental health services in low-resource settings before, but creating locally usable system-level measurement tools is relatively new and is still being refined.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston Medical Center
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Prom de Illanes, Maria Catherine — Boston Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Prom de Illanes, Maria Catherine
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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.