None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this feasibility trial is to assess the effect of mPareshan digital intervention on screened positive participants’ mean symptomatic scores of anxiety and depression. It is hypothesized that the mPareshan application will be feasible to be delivered at community doorsteps by front line health workers. The mPareshan digital app is the main intervention for this study. There are six sessions in the app, designed to create awareness about mental health, provide psycho-social counselling through audio clips/ videos reinforcing positive thinking and making appropriate referrals for those exhibiting danger signs like self- harm, harm to others and suicidal ideation. Each session imparts psychoeducation counselling through contextually relevant audio and video clips, breathing exercises and promotes coping skills by engaging participants in pleasant activities and encouraging socialization.
Interventions
The main intervention of the study is a digital app customized to the cultural context of rural Sind Pakistan to address symptoms of anxiety and depression amongst community participants who screen positive (SP) for symptoms through a baseline survey. The survey will use two psychometric scales; PHQ-9 and GAD-7 to establish point prevalence of anxiety and depression and will be conducted by trained field data collectors before intervention.
The intervention will be delivered at the community
The main intervention of the study is a digital app customized to the cultural context of rural Sind Pakistan to address symptoms of anxiety and depression amongst community participants who screen positive (SP) for symptoms through a baseline survey. The survey will use two psychometric scales; PHQ-9 and GAD-7 to establish point prevalence of anxiety and depression and will be conducted by trained field data collectors before intervention. The intervention will be delivered at the community doorsteps (District Badin Sind) by the Lady health Workers (LHWs) of Pakistan's Lady Health Worker Programme (LHW-P) under supervision of her assigned Lady Health supervisors (LHSs) during their routine monthly visits to households in their catchment. During these visits in addition to her LHW-P mandated maternal and child health services, the LHW will additionally provide 25-30 minutes to deliver the mPareshan intervention if there is a confirmed SP in that household (as identified through the baseline survey) . The intervention app will have three distinct segments (a) tracking (b) counselling and (c) referral. The tracking segment records information on participant recruitment/retention and consent. Counselling segment (comprises of 6 sessions delivered at an interval of 15 days) has features of psychoeducation through audio and video clips, breathing exercises and imparts SP skills to cope with anxiety and depression by engaging in pleasant activities and socializing with friends and family. Based on a two-week recall, the referral segment identifies danger signs related to suicidal ideation, self-harm and harm to others and then suggests appropriate referrals to the nearest mental health facility. The one year feasibility study is divided into following phases 1. Preintervention Phase : Baseline Quantitative and Qualitative assessments-3 months 2 Intervention Phase : 3 months App design and 3 months for Intervention roll out (6 counselling sessions) 3 Post Intervention Phase : 3 months end line Quantitative and Qualitative Assessments
Sponsors
Brain and Mind Institute, Aga Khan University
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Treatment
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Eligibility criteria for participant enrollment in Intervention: - Aged 18 years or older - Showing “mild” or “moderate” symptoms of anxiety or depression according to GAD-7 and PHQ-9 tools - Willing to participate and able to give consent
Exclusion criteria
- Age less than 18 year or greater than 60 years - Undergoing any therapy/pharmacological treatment for mental health issues - Cases of minimal, moderately severe, and severe anxiety and depression according to GAD-7 and PHQ-9
Outcome results
None listed