Utilizing a church-based platform for mental health interventions: exploring the role of the clergy and the treatment preference of women with depression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Training lay people to deliver mental health interventions in the community can be an effective strategy to mitigate mental health manpower shortages in low- and middle-income countries. The healthy beginning initiative (HBI) is a congregation-based platform that uses this approach to train church-based lay health advisors to conduct mental health screening in community churches and link people to care. This paper explores the potential for a clergy-delivered therapy for mental disorders on the HBI platform and identifies the treatment preferences of women diagnosed with depression.

Methods

We conducted focus group discussion and free-listing exercise with 13 catholic clergy in churches that participated in HBI in Enugu, Nigeria. These exercises, guided by the

SUBMITTER: Iheanacho T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8127631 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature