Improving
community-based
mental health care in
India and Pakistan
Improving
community-based
mental health care in
India and Pakistan
Approximately 5-8% of the world’s population suffer from a Severe Mental Illness (SMI) presenting a major challenge worldwide.
SMI causes significant distress to affected people, families and wider communities, generating high costs through loss of productivity and ongoing healthcare use. The burden is greatest in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where there may be a lack of financial resources and qualified staff to provide extensive specialised services.
PIECEs’ research programme will explore, adapt and test a low-cost, generic approach (DIALOG+) that makes use of existing resources to improve community-based care for patients with psychosis and reduce the need for institutionalisation in India and Pakistan. DIALOG+ is an app-mediated intervention that has been shown to improve mental health outcomes. The research will also develop a participatory arts work which will focus on giving voice to people with psychosis and their experiences as well as engage local communities, opening conversations about mental illness.
Objectives
Adapt
DIALOG+ to ensure appropriateness to the local context
Test
the feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the intervention in improving QoL, and secondary outcomes (symptoms, treatment satisfaction, physical health, social situation) for people with psychosis
Develop
an implementation toolkit to aid wider dissemination and upscale
Build
the capacity of local researchers and services through a programme of capacity-building and knowledge exchange
Engage
with the local community, using digital and social media, and innovative arts-based approaches
Develop
a model for user involvement in research, including establishing Lived Experience Advisory Panels (LEAP)
Funded by
Partners
