Trial reportBMC psychiatry2015
Problem Management Plus (PM+) for common mental disorders in a humanitarian setting in Pakistan; study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (RCT).
Trial report in BMC psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Pilot Feasibility Study of Focused Psychosocial Support to Improve the Psychosocial Well-being and Functioning of Adults Affected by Humanitarian Crisis in Nepal
Effectiveness of Group Focused Psychosocial Support to Improve the Psychosocial Well-being and Functioning of Adults Affected by Humanitarian Crisis in Nepal
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Residual posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms after provision of brief behavioral intervention in low- and middle-income countries: An individual-patient data meta-analysis.Depression and anxiety · 2022Pooled it
- Primary-level worker interventions for the care of people living with mental disorders and distress in low- and middle-income countries.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Implementing Problem Management Plus (PM+) in Haiti: qualitative study.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- The development of a caregiver intervention to address child mental health in settings of complex humanitarian emergency: a multi-phase, multi-method approach.Conflict and health · 2025Article
- Article
- Acceptability and efficacy of the culturally adapted problem management plus intervention for people with disability in Pakistan: a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Enhancing mental health and well-being in adults from lower-resource settings: A mixed-method evaluation of the impact of problem management plus.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Mobile Health-Supported Virtual Reality and Group Problem Management Plus: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Trial Among Urban Refugee and Displaced Youth in Kampala, Uganda (Tushirikiane4MH, Supporting Each Other for Mental Health).JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Improving mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in humanitarian settings: reflections on research funded through R2HC.Conflict and health · 2020Article
- Common factors in psychological treatments delivered by non-specialists in low- and middle-income countries: Manual review of competencies.Journal of behavioral and cognitive therapy · 2020Article
- Evidence and gap map of studies assessing the effectiveness of interventions for people with disabilities in low-and middle-income countries.Campbell systematic reviews · 2020Article
- Pathways towards scaling up Problem Management Plus in Turkey: a theory of change workshop.Conflict and health · 2020Article
- Sequential screening for depression in humanitarian emergencies: a validation study of the Patient Health Questionnaire among Syrian refugees.Annals of general psychiatry · 2020Article
- Article
- Implementation of a problem-solving training initiative to reduce self-harm in prisons: a qualitative perspective of prison staff, field researchers and prisoners at risk of self-harm.Health & justice · 2019Article
- Correction to: Problem management plus (PM+) for common mental disorders in a humanitarian setting in Pakistan; study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (RCT).BMC psychiatry · 2018Article
- Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in international humanitarian aid workers: Study protocol.Internet interventions · 2017Review
- Problem Management Plus (PM+) in the treatment of common mental disorders in women affected by gender-based violence and urban adversity in Kenya; study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.International journal of mental health systems · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn humanitarian settings common mental disorders (depression, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder) are highly prevalent. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed Problem Management Plus (PM+), a 5-session, individual psychological intervention program, delivered by paraprofessionals that addresses common mental disorders in people in communities affected by adversity. The objectives of this study are to test effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the locally adapted PM+ compared to Treatment as usual (TAU) in Peshawar District, Pakistan.
methodsA randomised controlled trial will be conducted in 346 primary care attendees in 3 health care centres in Peshawar District, Pakistan. After informed consent, primary care attendees with high levels of psychological distress according to the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and functional impairment (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS)) will be assigned to PM+ (n = 173) or TAU (n = 173). At baseline, 1 week and 3 months following PM+, independent assessors will assess psychological distress with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and functional disability with the WHODAS. Secondary outcomes are posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and client-perceived priority problems. Further, cost-effectiveness will be assessed using the Service Receipt Inventory (SRI). DISCUSSION: If proven effective, PM+ will be rolled out to other areas for further adaptation and testing in diverse humanitarian settings.
trial registrationACTRN12614001235695. Registered 26 November 2014. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.