Trial reportBMC public health2018
Trained lay health workers reduce common mental disorder symptoms of adults with suicidal ideation in Zimbabwe: a cohort study.
Trial report in BMC public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Integrating Depression and Alcohol Use Care Into Primary Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Meta-Analysis.Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) · 2023Pooled it
- Applying the Exploration Preparation Implementation Sustainment (EPIS) Framework to the Kigali Imbereheza Project for Rwandan Adolescents Living With HIV.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2019Trial
- Integrating perinatal mental health screening into primary maternal healthcare services in Vietnam - a realist evaluation.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 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
- Integrating safety planning, problem-solving therapy and peer support for suicide prevention among adolescents living with HIV in Malawi: An application of the ADAPT-ITT adaptation framework.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Charting neuroethics discourse in Africa: A scoping review of ethical issues of neuroscience research in Africa.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2025Article
- Validation of Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ-14), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) in Unguja Island, Zanzibar.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- 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
- 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
- The cultural adaptation of the Friendship Bench Intervention to address perinatal psychological distress in Sierra Leone: an application of the ADAPT-ITT framework and the Ecological Validity Model.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- A profound absence of counseling interventions for suicide prevention among youth in Africa: A call to action based on an empty scoping review.Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 2024Article
- Mental health task-sharing in South Africa - a role for clinical associates?BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Barriers to the provision of non-communicable disease care in Zimbabwe: a qualitative study of primary health care nurses.BMC nursing · 2022Article
- Cultural adaptation of psychological interventions for people with mental disorders delivered by lay health workers in Africa: scoping review and expert consultation.International journal of mental health systems · 2022Article
- Lay HIV counselors' knowledge and attitudes toward depression: A mixed-methods cross-sectional study at primary healthcare centers in Mozambique.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Feasibility and acceptability of a mental health stigma intervention for low-income South African caregivers: A qualitative investigation.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2022Article
- Lay Health Workers in Community-Based Care and Management of Dementia: A Qualitative 'Pre' and 'Post' Intervention Study in Southwestern Uganda.BioMed research international · 2022Article
- Lay-delivered talk therapies for adults affected by humanitarian crises in low- and middle-income countries.Conflict and health · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSuicidal ideation may lead to deliberate self-harm which increases the risk of death by suicide. Globally, the main cause of deliberate self-harm is depression. The aim of this study was to explore prevalence of, and risk factors for, suicidal ideation among men and women with common mental disorder (CMD) symptoms attending public clinics in Zimbabwe, and to determine whether problem solving therapy delivered by lay health workers can reduce common mental disorder symptoms among people with suicidal ideation, using secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial.
methodsAt trial enrolment, the Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ) was used to screen for CMD symptoms. In the intervention arm, participants received six problem-solving therapy sessions conducted by trained and supervised lay health workers, while those in the control arm received enhanced usual care. We used multivariate logistic regression to identify risk factors for suicidal ideation at enrolment, and cluster-level logistic regression to compare SSQ scores at endline (6 months follow-up) between trial arms, stratified by suicidal ideation at enrolment.
resultsThere were 573 participants who screened positive for CMD symptoms and 75 (13.1%) reported suicidal ideation at baseline. At baseline, after adjusting for confounders, suicidal ideation was independently associated with being aged over 24, lack of household income (household income yes/no; adjusted odds ratio 0.52 (95% CI 0.29, 0.95); p = 0.03) and with having recently skipped a meal due to lack of food (adjusted odds ratio 3.06 (95% CI 1.81, 5.18); p < 0.001). Participants who reported suicidal ideation at enrolment experienced similar benefit to CMD symptoms from the Friendship Bench intervention (adjusted mean difference - 5.38, 95% CI -7.85, - 2.90; p < 0.001) compared to those who had common mental disorder symptoms but no suicidal ideation (adjusted mean difference - 4.86, 95% CI -5.68, - 4.04; p < 0.001).
conclusionsProblem-solving therapy delivered by trained and supervised lay health workers reduced common mental disorder symptoms among participants with suicidal thoughts who attended primary care facilities in Zimbabwe.
trial registrationpactr.org ldentifier: PACTR201410000876178.
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