Challenge

Individuals in low- and middle-income countries are vulnerable to experiencing mental health problems due to factors such as poverty, domestic abuse, violence, HIV/AIDS, food insecurity, chronic disease, and forced displacement. One of the most significant challenges to implementing and sustaining mental health treatment for these individuals is the limited number of professional mental health workers and trainers.

To address the lack of trained staff, EDC and Johns Hopkins University (JHU) have developed an implementation study to compare the effectiveness of a face-to-face train-the-trainer (TTT) implementation strategy with a technology-based TTT that reduces the need for a highly skilled trainer to lead in-person trainings.

Key Activities

Project staff are engaging in the following activities:

  • Developing and designing a set of mobile apps and interactive audio instruction programs to deliver the curriculum of the Common Elements Treatment Approach TTT program on mental health counseling practices
  • Conducting evaluations to assess the effectiveness of technology-based trainings over multiple generations of trainees

Impact

  • Results of this study may show that the technology-based TTT hybrid model is a highly effective and cost-effective way to train new counselors.

Learn More

DURATION
2017–Present
FUNDED BY
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
PARTNERS

Johns Hopkins University, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia