Observational studyInternational journal of health policy and management2021
The Effectiveness of a Multi-Pronged Psycho-Social Intervention Among People With Mental Health and Epilepsy Problems - A Pre-Post Prospective Cohort Study Set in North India.
Observational study in International journal of health policy and management, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of a resilience, gender equity and mental health group intervention for young people living in informal urban communities in North India: a cluster randomized controlled trial.Global health action · 2025Trial
- A critical review of literature and a conceptual framework for organizing and researching urban health and community health services in low- and middle-income countries.Health policy and planning · 2025Review
- Diversity in approaches in community-based mental health interventions in India: A narrative review and synthesis.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2025Review
- "A man never cries": A mixed-methods analysis of gender differences in depression and alcohol use in Moshi, Tanzania.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Opening up the 'black-box': what strategies do community mental health workers use to address the social dimensions of mental health?Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Article
- "medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- Developing relevant community mental health programmes in North India: five questions we ask when co-producing knowledge with experts by experience.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Improving mental ill-health with psycho-social group interventions in South Asia-A scoping review using a realist lens.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Home-Based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for the Treatment of Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn low- and middle-income settings, many people with mental health problems cannot or do not access psychiatric services. Few studies of people with epilepsy and mental problems have evaluated the effectiveness of a predominantly psycho-social intervention, delivered by lay community workers. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a community-based complex mental health intervention within informal urban communities while simultaneously addressing social determinants of mental health among disadvantaged people with severe and common mental disorders (CMDs), and epilepsy.
methodsIn this observational, prospective cohort study set in Uttarakhand, India, the lay-worker led intervention included psychoeducation, behavioural activation, facilitation of access to care, and facilitated psycho-social support groups. Participants were categorised as having a severe or CMD or epilepsy and assessed 5 times over 24 months using primary outcome measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) (severity of depression), the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0), the Recovery Star, and scoring of a bespoke Engagement Index. Analysis included descriptive statistics as well as hierarchical linear regression models to report fixed effects as regression coefficients.
resultsAmong the 297 (baseline) participants only 96 people (31%) regularly used psychotropic medication (at least 4 weeks) and over 60% could not or did not consult a psychiatrist at all in the study period. Nonetheless, people with CMDs showed a significant reduction in their depression severity (PHQ9: B=-6.94, 95% CI -7.37 to -6.51), while people with severe mental disorders (SMDs) showed a significant reduction in their disability score (WHODAS 2.0: B=-4.86, 95% CI - 7.14 to- 2.57). People with epilepsy also reduced their disability score (WHODAS 2.0: B=-5.22, 95% CI -7.29 to -3.15).
conclusionThis study shows significant improvements in mental health, depression, recovery, disability and social engagement for people with common and SMDs, and epilepsy, through a community-based intervention that was nonpharmaceutical. It provides preliminary evidence of the value of predominantly psycho-social interventions implemented by lay health workers among people with limited or no access to psychiatric services.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.