Training community health workers to help with depression and anxiety
Official title: Train and EMPOWER A Community Health workforce (TEACH)
Funded at University of Texas Arlington · NIH-11111422 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project trains university students to become community health workers who use digital tools to deliver short, evidence-based support for people with depression and anxiety in under-resourced communities.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas Arlington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Arlington, United States) |
| Project start | September 24, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $758,329 |
| NIH project number | 5U01MD019540-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11111422 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people in low-resource rural or urban communities experiencing mild-to-moderate depression or anxiety who can engage with locally deployed community health workers.
✕Less likely to help
People with severe psychiatric conditions, active suicidal crises, or those requiring specialized medical or psychiatric treatments may not receive direct benefit from this program.
What this research studies
You would receive help from community health workers trained from a local university to provide brief, practical support for depression and anxiety. The program recruits undergraduate students and uses an online suite of digital tools to train, supervise, and certify them to deliver quality-assured psychosocial interventions. Interventions are co-designed with students and community specialists and include content tailored to local needs and social factors affecting mental health. The aim is to expand a scalable, community-based mental health workforce for rural and urban low-resource areas.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could increase access to timely, culturally tailored mental health support and reduce untreated depression and anxiety in underserved communities.
How similar studies have gone: Task-sharing and community health worker approaches have shown promise in similar settings, though this project’s combination of digital training and local co-design is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas Arlington
Arlington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sanchez, Katherine — University of Texas Arlington
- Study coordinator: Sanchez, Katherine
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.