ArticleBMJ open2019
Community health worker-delivered counselling for common mental disorders among chronic disease patients in South Africa: a feasibility study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Primary-level and community worker interventions for the prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of well-being in low- and middle-income countries.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Examining theoretical mediators in a culturally adapted, community health worker-led intervention for depression and anxiety.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2026Trial
- Impact of Technology Driven Mental Health Task-shifting for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs): Results from a Randomised Controlled Trial of Two Methods of Training.Community mental health journal · 2023Trial
- Task Sharing or Task Dumping: Counsellors Experiences of Delivering a Psychosocial Intervention for Mental Health Problems in South Africa.Community mental health journal · 2021Trial
- Article
- Delivering low-intensity psychological interventions in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-ethnographic synthesis of lay health workers' experiences.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- Barriers and potential solutions for effective integration of depression care into non-communicable diseases clinics in Malawi: a qualitative end-point evaluation of the SHARP randomized controlled trial.International journal of mental health systems · 2025Article
- A stakeholder-driven approach to designing a peer recovery coach role for implementation in community-oriented primary care teams in South Africa.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- "You go an extra mile": a qualitative study of community health worker perspectives in a health promotion intervention in urban South Africa.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- A stakeholder-driven approach to designing a peer recovery coach role for implementation in community-oriented primary care teams in South Africa.Research square · 2024Article
- Community health worker training to reduce mental health and substance use stigma towards patients who have disengaged from HIV/TB care in South Africa: protocol for a stepped wedge hybrid type II pilot implementation trial.Implementation science communications · 2024Article
- Evaluating counselling skills of community health workers for pregnant adolescents in Limpopo province.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2024Article
- A scoping review of substance use brief interventions in Africa.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Piloting Siyakhana: A community health worker training to reduce substance use and depression stigma in South African HIV and TB care.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Mental health implications of suicide rates in South Africa.World journal of clinical cases · 2023Review
- Evaluation of a Depression Intervention in People With HIV and/or TB in Eswatini Primary Care Facilities: Implications for Southern Africa.Global health, science and practice · 2023Article
- Community-based counselling programme for pregnant women with alcohol problems in Cape Town, South Africa: a qualitative study of the views of pregnant women and healthcare professionals.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Strategies for supporting the implementation of a task-shared psychological intervention in South Africa's chronic disease services: qualitative insights from health managers' experiences of project MIND.Global health action · 2022Article
- Enabling mental health task-sharing: a collective case study of undergraduate clinical associate training programmes in South Africa.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- Adapting a Behavioral Intervention for Alcohol Use and HIV Medication Adherence for Lay Counselor Delivery in Cape Town, South Africa: A Case Series.Cognitive and behavioral practice · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo examine the feasibility and acceptability of integrating a 'designated' approach to community health worker (CHW)-delivered mental health counselling (where existing CHWs deliver counselling in addition to usual duties) and a 'dedicated' approach (where additional CHWs have the sole responsibility of delivering mental health counselling) into chronic disease care.
designA feasibility test of a designated and dedicated approach to CHW-delivered counselling and qualitative interviews of CHWs delivering the counselling.
settingFour primary healthcare clinics in the Western Cape, South Africa allocated to either a designated or dedicated approach and stratified by urban/rural status.
participantsForty chronic disease patients (20 with HIV, 20 with diabetes) reporting hazardous alcohol use or depression. Interviews with seven CHWs.
interventionThree sessions of structured mental health counselling.
main outcome measuresWe assessed feasibility by examining the proportion of patients who were willing to be screened, met inclusion criteria, provided consent, completed counselling and were retained in the study. Acceptability of these delivery approaches was assessed through qualitative interviews of CHWs.
resultsRegardless of approach, a fair proportion (67%) of eligible patients were willing to receive mental health counselling. Patients who screened positive for depression were more likely to be interested in counselling than those with hazardous alcohol only. Retention in counselling (85%) and the study (90%) was good and did not differ by approach. Both dedicated and designated CHWs viewed the counselling package as highly acceptable but requested additional training and support to facilitate implementation.
conclusionsDedicated and designated approaches to CHW-delivered mental health counselling were matched in terms of their feasibility and acceptability. A comparative efficacy trial of these approaches is justified, with some adjustments to the training and implementation protocols to provide further support to CHWs.
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