ArticlePLOS global public health2023
Interventions to increase help-seeking for mental health care in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 4 of them syntheses 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.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Empowering accredited social health activist (ASHA) workers to support community mental health in Karnataka State of India: A systematic review.The Indian journal of medical research · 2026Pooled it
- Cross-national research on adolescent mental health: a systematic review comparing research in low, middle and high-income countries.BMJ global health · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions to improve mental help-seeking behaviours in individuals with depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Health Professionals' Attitudes Towards Traditional Healing for Mental Illness: A Systematic Review.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- A cluster-randomized trial of interventions for adolescent mental disorders in Zimbabwe.BMC psychiatry · 2025Trial
- A community case detection tool to promote help-seeking for mental health care among children and adolescents in Ugandan refugee settlements: a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial.The Lancet. Child & adolescent health · 2024Trial
- Building a Mental Health-Ready Nursing Workforce: A Scoping Review of Preparatory Interventions.International journal of mental health nursing · 2026Article
- Following the youth patient journey in the mental health help-seeking process in Bogotá, Colombia.International journal of mental health systems · 2026Article
- Interventions to improve mental health help-seeking attitudes, intentions and behaviors: A systematic review of recent advances.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- Breaking down barriers: A qualitative study of demand- and supply-side barriers to depression care in Nepal.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Barriers and facilitators of mental health help-seeking behaviours among school-going adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa: A qualitative evidence synthesis.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- "The satisfaction we get by doing this, you do not get it with any money": Experiences, and motivations of, and strategies used by community volunteers delivering social or health interventions in India.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Helping to improve demand for mental health services: Reach and adoption of a community mental health education and detection tool by community health workers within routine care in South Africa.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Article
- Mental Health Treatment of Individuals Seeking Holy Water Treatment in Ethiopia.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Estimating the prevalence, socioeconomic determinants, and health seeking behavior of individuals with depression in Ghana.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Assessing the Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms and Menopausal Quality of Life Among Academic Women in Saudi Arabia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Patterns and predictors of 12-month treatment of common anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders in the World Mental Health (WMH) surveys: treatment in the context of perceived need.International journal of mental health systems · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Mental health problems are a significant and growing cause of morbidity worldwide. Despite the availability of evidence-based interventions, most people experiencing mental health problems remain untreated. This treatment gap is particularly large in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and is due to both supply-side and demand-side barriers. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and synthesise the evidence on interventions to improve help-seeking for mental health problems in LMICs. The protocol was registered a priori (Registration number: CRD42021255635). We searched eight databases using terms based on three concepts: 'mental health/illness' AND 'help-seeking' AND 'LMICs'; and included all age groups and mental health problems. Forty-two papers were eligible and included in this review. Intervention components were grouped into three categories following the steps in the help-seeking process: (1) raising mental health awareness among the general population (e.g., distribution of printed or audio-visual materials), (2) identification of individuals experiencing mental health problems (e.g., community-level screening or detection), and (3) promoting help-seeking among people in need of mental health care (e.g., sending reminders). The majority of interventions (80%) included components in a combination of the aforementioned categories. Most studies report positive outcomes, yet results on the effectiveness is mixed, with a clear trend in favour of interventions with components from more than one category. Ten out of 42 studies (24%) yielded a statistically significant effect of the intervention on help-seeking; and all targeted a combination of the aforementioned categories (i.e., raising awareness, identification and help-seeking promotion). Only six studies (14%) focused on children and adolescents. Due to the limited number of robust studies done in LMICs and the heterogeneity of study designs, outcomes and components used, no definite conclusions can be drawn with regards to the effects of individual strategies or content of the interventions.
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.