ArticleInternational journal of mental health systems2016
Using a theory driven approach to develop and evaluate a complex mental health intervention: the friendship bench project in Zimbabwe.
Article in International journal of mental health systems, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed.
- Addressing depression, stress, and hopelessness through an economic and relationship-strengthening intervention: Findings from a pilot randomized controlled trial among people with HIV in Malawi.Journal of affective disorders · 2026Trial
- A cluster-randomized trial of interventions for adolescent mental disorders in Zimbabwe.BMC psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Evidence for Mental Health Promotion and Prevention in Korea: A Narrative Review.Psychiatry investigation · 2026Article
- Piloting a Near-Peer Lay Counselor Based Problem Solving Therapy Intervention for Youth With and Without HIV in Botswana: An Adaptation of the Friendship Bench.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2026Article
- Scaling up an integrated primary mental health screening programme in South Africa through co-development and continuous quality improvement.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Adaptation of Inuka coaching problem-solving therapy to support mental health and HIV medication adherence among status-neutral men who have sex with men in South Africa.International health · 2026Article
- Risk factors for PrEP and ART medication adherence challenges in cis-gender South African men who have sex with men in Johannesburg and Pretoria.International health · 2025Article
- Optimising knowledge mobilisation for mental health research in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of the state of knowledge and directions for future research.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2025Review
- Barriers and facilitators to integrating the friendship bench into non-communicable disease care in Malawi: A qualitative study.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Article
- Barriers and facilitators to implementing a task-sharing mental health intervention for Sickle Cell Disease populations in low- and middle-income countries: a qualitative analysis using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Evaluating implementation research outcomes for a task-sharing mental health intervention: A systematic review of the Friendship Bench.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2025Review
- Implementation Determinants of Problem-Solving Therapy Delivered by Near-Peer Lay Counselors for Youth Living with HIV in Botswana: Lay Counsellor Perspectives.Global implementation research and applications · 2024Article
- M-SAKHI - Mobile health solutions to help community providers promote maternal and infant nutrition and health: a description of development of the Program Impact Pathway using Theory of Change.Public health nutrition · 2024Article
- Using formative research to inform a mental health intervention for adolescents living in Indian slums: the ARTEMIS study.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2024Article
- A Diagram of the Social-Ecological Conditions of Opioid Misuse and Overdose.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Integrating Adolescent Mental Health into HIV Prevention and Treatment Programs: Can Implementation Science Pave the Path Forward?AIDS and behavior · 2023Article
- SMARThealth PRegnancy And Mental Health study: protocol for a situational analysis of perinatal mental health in women living in rural India.Frontiers in global women's health · 2023Article
- Implementing Electronic Health Records in Primary Care Using the Theory of Change: Nigerian Case Study.JMIR medical informatics · 2022Article
- Barriers to the provision of non-communicable disease care in Zimbabwe: a qualitative study of primary health care nurses.BMC nursing · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is a paucity of data on how to deliver complex interventions that seek to reduce the treatment gap for mental disorders, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The need for well-documented protocols which clearly describe the development and the scale-up of programs and interventions is necessary if such interventions are to be replicated elsewhere. This article describes the use of a theory of change (ToC) model to develop a brief psychological intervention for common mental disorders and its' evaluation through a cluster randomized controlled trial in Zimbabwe.
methodsA total of eight ToC workshops were held with a range of stakeholders over a 6-month period with a focus on four key components of the program: formative work, piloting, evaluation and scale-up. A ToC map was developed as part of the process with defined causal pathways leading to the desired impact. Interventions, indicators, assumptions and rationale for each point along the causal pathway were considered.
resultsPolitical buy-in from stakeholders together with key resources, which included human, facility/infrastructure, communication and supervision were identified as critical needs using the ToC approach. Ten (10) key interventions with specific indicators, assumptions and rationale formed part of the final ToC map, which graphically illustrated the causal pathway leading to the development of a psychological intervention and the successful implementation of a cluster randomized controlled trial.
conclusionToC workshops can enhance stakeholder engagement through an iterative process leading to a shared vision that can improve outcomes of complex mental health interventions particularly where scaling up of the intervention is desired.
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