Psychosocial interventions for people with comorbid substance use disorders in people with severe mental health conditions in low- and middle-income countries: scoping review.

Awoke Mihretu, Abebaw Fekadu, Azeb Asaminew Alemu, Charlotte Hanlon

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in BJPsych open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Hospital-at-Home for Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders Compared to Inpatient Treatment in Dual Diagnosis Patients: A Retrospectively Matched Cohort Pilot Study Incorporating Service Use 12 months Pre- and Post-Treatment in Geneva.Journal of primary care & community health
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Awoke MihretuDepartment of Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Research and Capacity Building, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5956-114X

Abebaw FekaduDepartment of Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Research and Capacity Building, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2219-0952

Azeb Asaminew AlemuDepartment of Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Research and Capacity Building, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2898-713X

Charlotte HanlonDepartment of Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Research and Capacity Building, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe high comorbidity of substance use disorders (SUDs) among people with severe mental health conditions (MHCs) poses major challenges to providing effective care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where treatment options are limited.

aimsThe aim of this scoping review was to produce an overview of the current evidence on psychosocial interventions for people with comorbid MHCs and SUDs in LMICs.

methodThe following databases were searched from their inception to 23 July 2024: PubMed/Medline, Global Health, Embase, PsycINFO and Global Index Medicus. We also searched for grey literature, using Google Scholar, ProQuest and Clinicaltrials.gov. Reporting was according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist. Studies were eligible if they focused on any psychosocial intervention targeting substance use in people with severe MHCs from LMICs. Of the 6304 records screened by titles and abstracts, 138 full-text articles were assessed and included for data extraction.

resultsOf the 6304 records screened by titles and abstracts, 138 full-text articles were assessed and 13 articles were included for data extraction. Many of the studies (

conclusionsThe review shows that there have been few initiatives to design and test psychosocial interventions for individuals with comorbid severe MHCs and SUDs in LMICs. There is a clear need to design and test feasible, acceptable, and effective interventions to address both severe MHCs and substance use when they co-occur.

Indexed as

comorbid substance use disordersdual diagnosisPsychosocial interventionsrecoverysevere mental health conditions

Identifiers

PMID40977406

DOI10.1192/bjo.2025.10840

PMCPMC12458094

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.