ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2026
Implementation of a Mental Health Literacy e-Curriculum (MHLeC) in Malawi Universities: a feasibility cluster randomised trial protocol.
Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Assessing the mental health literacy of young adults from rural and urban communities in Malawi.BJPsych open · 2026Article
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
Abstract
backgroundMental health literacy (MHL) in Malawi is low. Mental illness is often attributed to substance abuse or spirit possession, resulting in stigma, maltreatment, and discrimination towards people with mental health problems. Inadequacies in Malawi's mental health services and workforce increase limited treatment access, knowledge, and negative attitudes, causing an epidemic of substance use and suicides. MHL is foundational for mental health promotion, prevention of mental illness, and stigma reduction. Educational settings are ideal for implementing mental health promotion activities. We want to deliver a MHL e-curriculum (MHLeC) to first-year university students in Malawi to improve their MHL. The project aims to assess the feasibility of implementing MHLeC in four Malawian universities within a cluster randomised trial.
methodsIn this pragmatic, cluster randomised feasibility trial, we will approach four to eight public and private tertiary institutions about study participation. Clusters will be participating universities allocated to the mandatory MHLeC or the voluntary MHLeC group using stratified randomisation on a 1:1 ratio. University type (e.g. public or private) will be used as the stratification factor for randomisation, with two levels ensuring two universities per stratum. This approach is appropriate for the four-cluster design. Specific feasibility objectives include (1) estimating likely participation rates of universities and students, (2) establishing potential attendance/retention rates during MHLeC delivery, (3) assessing acceptability of the MHLeC through qualitative feedback after intervention delivery, (4) assessing appropriateness of chosen questionnaires for measuring student outcomes. Data will be analysed descriptively. Outcomes from data collected will inform the feasibility of a future main trial including main trial design and recruitment strategies, sample size and power calculations for a full-scale cluster randomised trial. DISCUSSION: This trial will give us insights on how best to conduct the definitive trial. The intervention can be rolled out nationally within a full-scale trial in Malawi and tested in similar cohorts across Africa if positive results are obtained. More broadly, this research has the potential to significantly increase mental health awareness among young people in Malawi.
trial registrationThis study is registered on the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR) website https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/ (PACTR202308849574524). Registered 31st August 2023.
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.