Stepped care for pregnancy-related mood and anxiety for women with HIV in Kenya
Official title: Integration of stepped care for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders among Women Living with HIV in Kenya
Funded at Kenyatta National Hospital · NIH-11144411 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project brings routine mental-health screening, brief counseling, and remote psychiatric care together to help pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV in Kenyan clinics who have depression or anxiety.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Kenyatta National Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nairobi, Kenya) |
| Project start | September 19, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,807,527 |
| NIH project number | 4RF1MH133266-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11144411 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant or postpartum women living with HIV who attend participating antenatal, postnatal, or PMTCT clinics in Kenya and screen positive for depression or anxiety are the intended candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Women who do not attend participating clinics, who do not screen positive, or who need urgent inpatient or highly specialized psychiatric care may not receive direct benefit from this program.
What this research studies
If you go to a participating maternal or PMTCT clinic, staff will screen you for depression and anxiety as part of routine visits. If you have mild-to-moderate symptoms, you could be offered Problem Management Plus (PM+), a short counseling program delivered by trained clinic providers. If your symptoms are severe or do not improve, the program can connect you with a psychiatrist by telemedicine. The team will train clinic staff and set up referral links so this package can work as part of regular HIV and maternity care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make mental health care easier to get where you already receive HIV and maternity services, reducing depression and anxiety and supporting better outcomes for you and your baby.
How similar studies have gone: Components like PM+ and stepped-care models have reduced perinatal depression in low-resource settings, though combining them with telepsychiatry specifically for women living with HIV is more novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Kenyatta National Hospital
Nairobi, Kenya Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kinuthia, John — Kenyatta National Hospital
- Study coordinator: Kinuthia, John
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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.