Skip to content

Evaluation of a school mental health package in Uganda

Population-level evaluation of a mental health care package for children in Uganda (Pamoja Tunaweza): a cluster randomized controlled trial

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN34179105
Enrollment
4536
Registered
2025-06-03
Start date
2025-06-02
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2026-07-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental health (i.e. improved wellbeing and reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms) Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

18 zones (i.e. clusters
a zone is an administrative unit in Uganda) are randomized in a 1:1 ratio (stratified for school size) to one of the two study arms. The two arms are the multi-component mental health care system (exp

Sponsors

War Child Alliance
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
11 Years to 16 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Residents of the program area 2. Age 11-16 years at the time of baseline 3. Speaking primary language (Kinyabwisha, Congolese Kiswahili, Runyankole, Runyoro/Rutooro)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Does not meet the inclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Measured at baseline, midline at 6 months, and endline at 12 months: 1. Adolescent-reported reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms assessed using the Measurement of Mental Health Among Adolescents at the Population Level (MMAPP) 2. Adolescent-reported improvements in psychosocial wellbeing assessed using the Stirling Children’s Wellbeing Scale (commonly referred to as the Stirling Scale)

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
All measured at baseline and endline at 12 months: Child-reported measures: 1. Behavioural problems measured using the Disruptive Behavior International Scale - Nepal version (DBIS) 2. Risk factors for future development of depression measured using the Identifying Depression Early in Adolescents Risk Score (IDEA-RS) 3. Personalised outcome measure PSYCHLOPS 3 (Psychological Outcome Profiles) 4. Quality of life, health, and functioning measured using KIDSCREEN-10 5. Internalized stigma measured using the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) Hypothesized mediators (child reported): 1. Family functioning measured using the Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation-15 (SCORE-15) 2. Hope measured using the Hope scale 3. Social connectedness measured using the Social Connectedness Scale Exploratory indirect effects (child reported): 1. Two modules based on the Global Early Adolescent Survey (GEAS) to (i) measure trust in adults (not being family or relatives) in the neighborhood (4 items) and (ii) measure friendship (number and engagement) 2 (items) 2. Bullying measured using the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire-Revised Scale (OBVQ-R) 3. Sexual and gender-based violence experience measured using the Global Early Adolescent Survey (GEAS) 4. Alcohol and substance use measured using the 5- item scale of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test – Frequency & Concern Items (ASSIST-FC) 5. Parental violence measured using GEAS and INSPIRE (UNICEF guidelines on measuring adolescent harms) Caregiver-reported measures: 1. Socio-demographics and household roster developed for this study to understand the demographic and socioeconomic situation of caregivers and household members 2. Parenting measured using the Brief Parenting Questionnaire (BRQ) 3. Caregiver wellbeing measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale (WEMWBS) 4. Psychological distress measured using Kessler-6 (K6) 5. Traumatic experience measured using the Harvard Traum

Countries

Uganda

Contacts

Public ContactMark Jordans
mark.jordans@warchild.net+31 (0)648431702

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Jul 23, 2026