ArticleBJPsych open2026
Improving mental health literacy of frontline community health workers in a rural district of Pakistan: mPareshan project.
Article in BJPsych open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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5 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundIn low- and middle-income countries, four out of five people with mental illness do not receive specialised treatment. Utilising non-specialist frontline workers to deliver basic mental health services at the community level therefore warrants exploration.
aimsThis study assessed improvement in the knowledge and skills of frontline community workers in identifying symptoms of anxiety and depression, making appropriate referrals and providing psychosocial counselling, in a rural district of Pakistan.
methodProject mPareshan developed a training manual to enhance the mental health literacy of government-employed lady health workers (LHWs) and lady health supervisors (LHSs). Content was adapted from the World Health Organization's Mental Health Gap Action Programme 2.0 intervention guide to suit the local context. A total of 72 participants (36 LHSs and 36 LHWs) from the Badin District, Sindh, Pakistan, received the training. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to assess changes in knowledge and skills, using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
resultsThere was a statistically significant improvement in both knowledge (
conclusionsThe mPareshan mental health training has the potential to improve the knowledge and competencies of community health workers. Such initiatives can be scaled up to enable frontline workers to function as an effective workforce in the absence of specialist mental health services.
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