SynthesisBMC public health2024
The effectiveness of mental health interventions involving non-specialists and digital technology in low-and middle-income countries - a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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
34 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of Telehealth Care Interventions for Women's Mental Health During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- The growing burden of mental health and the role of digital technologies in the Global South: policies, cultural contexts, and community-based transformations-a systematic review of gray literature evidence.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Updates on digital mental health interventions for children and young people: systematic overview of reviews.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Implementing integrated mental health and substance use disorder services in Indian primary care: a multi-state CFIR-based qualitative study.International journal for equity in health · 2026Trial
- Remote training of behavioral intervention facilitators: model development and lessons learned.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Trial
- The CARE implementation study: scaling group-based psychoeducational trauma therapy across healthcare organizations in Canada.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Exploring the Potential and Challenges of Digital and AI-Driven Psychotherapy for ADHD, OCD, Schizophrenia, and Substance Use Disorders: A Comprehensive Narrative Review.Indian journal of psychological medicine · 2026Review
- Early Deployment of an Integrated Digital Platform (shamiriOS) for Scalable Youth Mental Health Service Delivery in Kenya: Development and Usability Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Feasibility and acceptability of technology-assisted problem management plus (TA-PM+) in community settings in Pakistan: a pre-post mixed-methods study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Peer Mentor Training and Supervision for a Digital Adolescent Depression Treatment in South Africa and Uganda: Mixed Methods Evaluation.JMIR mental health · 2026Article
- Availability and effectiveness of multicomponent interventions for early psychosis in 20 low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Understanding the Contours of a Successful Digitally Driven Capacity Building Program for Primary Care Doctors: A Mixed Method Study from a High-performing District of Southern India.Indian journal of psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Gender and common mental disorders: A perspective from India.World journal of psychiatry · 2026Review
- Use of digital health in task-sharing for prevention and management of non-communicable diseases in Africa: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Changes in depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms among children and adolescents exposed to adverse childhood experiences following participation in the PROACT intervention in Nairobi, Kenya.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Usability, adherence and efficacy of coach-augmented dHealth cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia in South African sexual assault survivors: a pilot study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Scaling Up Task-Shared Depression Care in Texas: Evaluating the Preliminary Effectiveness and Acceptability of a Digital Program for Training Non-Specialist Providers.Psychiatric research and clinical practice · 2026Article
- Associations of internet use and pregnancy loss with depression and anxiety among women in Bangladesh: evidence from the 2022 BDHS.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Severity Classification of Anxiety and Depression Using Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire: National Cross-Sectional Study Applying Classification and Regression Tree Models.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- Home-based digital counselling by frontline community workers for anxiety and depression symptoms in rural Sindh, Pakistan: the mPareshan intervention.BMC public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCombining non-specialists and digital technologies in mental health interventions could decrease the mental healthcare gap in resource scarce countries. This systematic review examined different combinations of non-specialists and digital technologies in mental health interventions and their effectiveness in reducing the mental healthcare gap in low-and middle-income countries.
methodsLiterature searches were conducted in four databases (September 2023), three trial registries (January-February 2022), and using forward and backward citation searches (May-June 2022). The review included primary studies on mental health interventions combining non-specialists and digital technologies in low-and middle-income countries. The outcomes were: (1) the mental health of intervention receivers and (2) the competencies of non-specialists to deliver mental health interventions. Data were expressed as standardised effect sizes (Cohen's d) and narratively synthesised. Risk of bias assessment was conducted using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tools for individual and cluster randomised and non-randomised controlled trials.
resultsOf the 28 included studies (n = 32 interventions), digital technology was mainly used in non-specialist primary-delivery treatment models for common mental disorders or subthreshold symptoms. The competencies of non-specialists were improved with digital training (d ≤ 0.8 in 4/7 outcomes, n = 4 studies, 398 participants). The mental health of receivers improved through non-specialist-delivered interventions, in which digital technologies were used to support the delivery of the intervention (d > 0.8 in 24/40 outcomes, n = 11, 2469) or to supervise the non-specialists' work (d = 0.2-0.8 in 10/17 outcomes, n = 3, 3096). Additionally, the mental health of service receivers improved through digitally delivered mental health services with non-specialist involvement (d = 0.2-0.8 in 12/27 outcomes, n = 8, 2335). However, the overall certainty of the evidence was poor.
conclusionIncorporating digital technologies into non-specialist mental health interventions tended to enhance non-specialists' competencies and knowledge in intervention delivery, and had a positive influence on the severity of mental health problems, mental healthcare utilization, and psychosocial functioning outcomes of service recipients, primarily within primary-deliverer care models. More robust evidence is needed to compare the magnitude of effectiveness and identify the clinical relevance of specific digital functions. Future studies should also explore long-term and potential adverse effects and interventions targeting men and marginalised communities.
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.