Technology-assisted cognitive-behavioral therapy for perinatal depression delivered by lived-experience peers: a cluster-randomized noninferiority trial.

ABSTRACT: Perinatal depression affects one in four women in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization's Thinking Healthy Programme (WHO-THP) is an established 'task-shared' cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention for perinatal depression. However, efforts to scale up are hampered by overburdened health systems struggling to maintain quality and fidelity. Here, to overcome these challenges, we coproduced with end users a technology-assisted digital version of the THP delivered by lived-experience peers (technology-assisted peer-delivered THP (THP-TAP)). We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of THP-TAP compared to the established WHO-THP. A single-blind cluster-randomized controlled noninferiority trial was conducted in rural Rawalpindi, Pakistan, with 70 village clusters rand

SUBMITTER: Rahman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12283383 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature