Friendship Bench support for women who use methamphetamine in Vietnam

Friendship Bench for Women Who Use Methamphetamine in Vietnam

This project will try a Friendship Bench program led by trained lay workers to see if it improves mental health and reduces methamphetamine use among women in Vietnam.

Quick facts

• Phase: NA
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 100 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: Female
• Sponsor: Hanoi Medical University (other)
• Locations: 1 site (Haiphong, Hai Phong)
• Trial ID: NCT06789523 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The team will adapt the Friendship Bench, a lay worker-delivered mental health intervention, to the needs of women who use methamphetamine in Haiphong, Vietnam. After adaptation, they will run a two-arm randomized trial comparing the adapted Friendship Bench to usual psychiatric care to measure feasibility, fidelity, acceptability, and preliminary signals of impact on common mental disorder symptoms and methamphetamine use. Adult women with moderate-or-greater meth use risk and moderate-or-greater CMD symptoms will be enrolled, while those with severe psychotic disorders or other conditions needing specialty care will be excluded. Findings will provide preliminary data to support a larger R01 effectiveness trial if results are promising.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Adult women (≥18) in Haiphong who use methamphetamine at moderate or greater risk (ASSIST ≥4) and have moderate or greater common mental disorder symptoms (DASS-21 thresholds) are the intended participants.

Not a fit: Women with severe psychotic disorders, other conditions requiring specialty care, or those judged unable to understand study procedures are unlikely to benefit from this intervention.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could give women an affordable, community-delivered way to improve common mental disorder symptoms and reduce methamphetamine use.

How similar studies have performed: Friendship Bench has shown success as a lay worker-delivered intervention for depression in other low- and middle-income countries, but its application specifically for women who use methamphetamine in Vietnam is novel.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult women (\>=18 years old)
* Moderate or greater risk for meth use (ASSIST ≥ 4)
* Moderate or greater CMD symptom severity (Depression ≥ 10, Anxiety ≥ 8, and/or Stress ≥ 15 on DASS-21)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Severe psychotic disorders or other interfering problems that require specialty care;
* Inability to understand study procedures by the research team's judgment.

Where this trial is running

Haiphong, Hai Phong

• Friendship Bench & Lighthouse — Haiphong, Hai Phong, Vietnam (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Trang Thu Nguyen, PhD

Conditions: Methamphetamine Use, Common Mental Disorders, methamphetamine, women who use drugs, common mental disorders, Friendship Bench, lay worker-delivered intervention