ArticleGlobal mental health (Cambridge, England)2019
Effectiveness of non-medical health worker-led counselling on psychological distress: a randomized controlled trial in rural Nepal.
Article in Global mental health (Cambridge, England), 2019. 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 trial NCT03544450 (Effectiveness of Non-medical Health Worker), which is not on this map. Cited by 14 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
Effectiveness of Non-medical Health Worker (NMHW) Led Counseling on Common Mental Disorders in Rural Mid-western Nepal
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 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
- 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
- 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
- Educational and Training Interventions Aimed at Healthcare Workers in the Detection and Management of People With Mental Health Conditions in South and South-East Asia: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Psychological and social interventions for the prevention of mental disorders in people living in low- and middle-income countries affected by humanitarian crises.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Sea-level rise and mental health among coastal communities: A quantitative survey and conditional process analysis.SSM - population health · 2024Article
- Developing a Depression Care Model for the Hill Tribes: A Family- and Community-Based Participatory Research.Depression research and treatment · 2023Article
- Recommendations for Optimizing xaʔtus (First Face) for Mental Health Training: Insights from Key Informants.American Indian and Alaska native mental health research (Online) · 2023Article
- Psychometric evaluation of PHQ-9 and GAD-7 among community health volunteers and nurses/midwives in Kenya following a nation-wide telephonic survey.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Mental health implications on Afghan children: an impending catastrophe.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2022Article
- Psychological and social interventions for mental health issues and disorders in Southeast Asia: a systematic review.International journal of mental health systems · 2021Review
- Community Health Workers Can Provide Psychosocial Support to the People During COVID-19 and Beyond in Low- and Middle- Income Countries.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- The Mental Health Implications of Domestic Violence During COVID-19.International journal of public healthArticle
- Effectiveness of non-medical health worker-led counselling on psychological distress: a randomized controlled trial in rural Nepal - ADDENDUM.Global mental health (Cambridge, England)Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAn essential strategy to increase coverage of psychosocial treatments globally is task shifting to non-medical counsellors, but evidence on its effectiveness is still scarce. This study evaluates the effectiveness of lay psychosocial counselling among persons with psychological distress in a primary health care setting in rural Nepal.
methodsA parallel randomized controlled trial in Dang, rural Nepal (NCT03544450). Persons aged 16 and older attending primary care and with a General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) score of 6 or more were randomized (1:1) to receive either non-medical psychosocial counselling (PSY) or enhanced usual care (EUC). PSY was provided by lay persons with a 6-month training and consisted of 5-weekly counselling sessions of 35-60 min with a culturally adapted solution-focused approach. EUC was provided by trained primary health workers. Participants were followed up at 1 (T1) and 6 months (T2). The primary outcome, response to treatment, was the reduction of minimum 50% in the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score.
resultsA total of 141 participants, predominantly socially disadvantaged women, were randomized to receive PSY and 146 to EUC. In the PSY, 123 participants and 134 in the EUC were analysed. In PSY, 101 participants (81.4%) had a response compared with 57 participants (42.5%) in EUC [percentage difference 39.4% (95% CI 28.4-50.4)]. The difference in BDI scores at T2 between PSY and EUC was -7.43 (95% CI -9.71 to -5.14).
conclusionsNon-medical (lay) psychosocial counselling appears effective in reducing depressive symptoms, and its inclusion in mental health care should be considered in low-resource settings.
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