Research Publications

Perceptions of HIV-related trauma in people living with HIV in Zimbabwe’s Friendship Bench Program: A qualitative analysis of counselors’ and clients’ experiences

This study investigated the experience of lay health workers (LHWs) delivering problem-solving therapy (PST) for common mental disorders (CMD) as well as clients’ views of the PST program referred to …

Effectiveness of a peer-led adolescent mental health intervention on HIV virological suppression and mental health in Zimbabwe: protocol of a cluster-randomised trial.

Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) experience a high burden of mental health disorder which is a barrier to antiretroviral therapy adherence. In Zimbabwe, trained, mentored peer supporters living with HIV …

Adaptation of the Friendship Bench Intervention for HIV-infected Perinatal Women in Lilongwe

Prevalence and Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Common Mental Disorders in Lay Health Workers Working on the Friendship Bench Program in Zimbabwe

Dixon Chibanda: grandmothers help to scale up mental health care.

Dixon Chibanda developed the Friendship Bench approach to mental health care in Zimbabwe. He tells Fiona Fleck how he is taking the innovative approach to other countries.

Trained lay health workers reduce common mental disorder symptoms of adults with suicidal ideation in Zimbabwe: a cohort study.

Suicidal ideation may lead to deliberate self-harm which increases the risk of death by suicide. Globally, the main cause of deliberate self-harm is depression. The aim of this study was …

Reducing the treatment gap for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in Africa: lessons from the Friendship Bench in Zimbabwe

Mental, neurological and substance use disorders (MNS) are a leading cause of disability in Africa. In response to the large treatment gap for MNS, a growing body of evidence-based treatments …

Lay Health Workers' Experience of Delivering a Problem Solving Therapy Intervention for Common Mental Disorders Among People Living with HIV: A Qualitative Study from Zimbabwe.

There is growing evidence supporting the use of lay health workers (LHWs) to address the treatment gap for common mental disorders (CMD) through task-shifting. This study looks at the experience …

Effect of a Primary Care-Based Psychological Intervention on Symptoms of Common Mental Disorders in Zimbabwe: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Depression and anxiety are common mental disorders globally but are rarely recognized or treated in low-income settings. Task-shifting of mental health care to lay health workers (LHWs) might decrease the …

Psychological interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder in people living with HIV in Resource poor settings: a systematic review.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is pervasive in low- and middle-income countries. There is evidence to suggest that post-traumatic stress disorder is more common among people living with HIV than non-infected matched …

‘Opening up the mind’: problem-solving therapy delivered by female lay health workers to improve access to evidence-based care for depression and other common mental disorders through the Friendship Bench Project in Zimbabwe

BackgroundThere are few accounts of evidence-based interventions for depression and other common mental disorders (CMDs) in primary care in low-income countries. The Friendship Bench Project is a collaborative care mental …

Using a theory driven approach to develop and evaluate a complex mental health intervention: the friendship bench project in Zimbabwe.

There is a paucity of data on how to deliver complex interventions that seek to reduce the treatment gap for mental disorders, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The need for well-documented …

Friendship Bench trial: lay worker training in problem-solving therapy to reduce symptoms of common mental disorders

The Friendship Bench programme: a cluster randomised controlled trial of a brief psychological intervention for common mental disorders delivered by lay health workers in Zimbabwe.

Common mental disorders (CMD) are a leading cause of disability globally. Emerging evidence indicates that in low and middle income countries the treatment gap for CMD can be addressed through …

Problem-solving therapy for depression and common mental disorders in Zimbabwe: piloting a task-shifting primary mental health care intervention in a population with a high prevalence of people living with HIV.

There is limited evidence that interventions for depression and other common mental disorders (CMD) can be integrated sustainably into primary health care in Africa. We aimed to pilot a low-cost …