S-MhINT is a research and capacity building consortium in Southern Africa that aims to strengthen regional mental health integration into primary health, antenatal, and chronic care platforms using implementation science in under-resourced areas of eastern South Africa, central Mozambique, and southern Tanzania.
S-MhINT has the following overall aims: 1) To establish and engage a trans- disciplinary Research consortium of academics, government representatives, non-governmental organizations in South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania to address the burden of common mental disorders in primary Health care settings; 2) To examine multi-level influences on the uptake, implementation, effectiveness and sustainability of an existing scale up of an integrated Mental health package for chronic disorders at primary Health care level in two different districts having different resource capacities in South Africa; 3) To build implementation science and dissemination Research capacity in South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania, recruiting service providers, managers, and policy makers as trainees, providing real world opportunities, mentorship, and necessary knowledge to conduct optimal scale-up of evidence-based integrated Mental Health care.
Perinatal depression is a common and serious disorder, with suicide representing a major cause of maternal mortality, but few women from low and middle income countries (LMICs) receive effective treatment. Effective models of care that improve perinatal depression and support suicide prevention exist but have not yet been widely implemented in routine maternal-child care services in LMICs. We plan to use a participatory approach to systematically identify and adapt key elements of evidence based models of perinatal depression care delivery to the cultural and health services context of Can Tho, Vietnam. Simultaneous exploration of potential implementation strategies to support and sustain this model in context will be identified along with the creation of a training and implementation toolkit for this setting. Using these strategies and tools we will then carry out a pilot perinatal collaborative care study in a public health center and the prenatal care practice of the Can Tho Obstetric and Gynecologic Hospital. The results of this pilot will be used to revise and enhance the treatment model and related implementation tools. These will be used in subsequent trials of effectiveness and/or implementation broadly in the health care system of Can Tho.
Engaged in early relationship-building with Can Tho University of Pharmacy and Medicine (CTUMP), and Can Tho Children’s Hospital (CTCH) in Can Tho, Vietnam to develop training, research, and clinical service delivery models for psychiatry and mental health in the region.
As is true throughout Southeast Asia, persons with mental illness in Vietnam suffer from stigmatization and under-resourced care. But things are changing. Vietnam is experiencing rapid economic expansion and, concurrently, attitudes about caring for individuals with mental illness are shifting. There is a developing awareness of children’s and adolescents’ mental health needs, and illness. UW faculty are working with the leadership at CTMUP to expand its capacity to provide mental health care in general psychiatry and in pediatrics, assisting community psychiatrists to update their knowledge, and guiding the leadership at the new Children’s Hospital to develop mental health programs.
