TY - JOUR
T1 - Adolescent engagement in a stepped care, transdiagnostic mental health intervention delivered in Indian schools
AU - Gellatly, Resham
AU - Boustani, Maya
AU - Nair, Pooja
AU - Mahajan, Rujuta
AU - Jambhale, Abhijeet
AU - Sahu, Rooplata
AU - Chodankar, Bindiya
AU - Krishna, Madhuri
AU - Malik, Kanika
AU - Mathur, Sonal
AU - Becker, Kimberly
AU - Michelson, Daniel
AU - Patel, Vikram
AU - Chorpita, Bruce
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/4/17
Y1 - 2024/4/17
N2 - Given the relationship between poor engagement and worse treatment outcomes, improving engagement has been the focus of attention in recent years. Engagement is a particular challenge among minoritized and otherwise challenged youth, such as those from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, including youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where they face lower levels of access to resources, including mental health treatment. The present study describes engagement challenges that arose in an uncontrolled pre-post evaluation of a school-based, modular, multi-problem, stepped-care intervention delivered in urban Indian communities. Specifically, the study aimed to (1) characterize barriers and facilitators of youth treatment engagement; and (2) evaluate treatment acceptability and fit of treatment from the youth perspective. Youth participants completed semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. Participants described numerous facilitators to engagement (e.g., positive therapeutic relationship) and reported high overall satisfaction with the intervention, while also identifying barriers to engagement (e.g., concerns about confidentiality) and offering suggestions to increase fit and acceptability (e.g., more visually appealing treatment materials). Findings highlight ways in which engagement can be enhanced and implementation supports improved to maximize treatment effectiveness among minoritized and disadvantaged youth in LMICs.
AB - Given the relationship between poor engagement and worse treatment outcomes, improving engagement has been the focus of attention in recent years. Engagement is a particular challenge among minoritized and otherwise challenged youth, such as those from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, including youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where they face lower levels of access to resources, including mental health treatment. The present study describes engagement challenges that arose in an uncontrolled pre-post evaluation of a school-based, modular, multi-problem, stepped-care intervention delivered in urban Indian communities. Specifically, the study aimed to (1) characterize barriers and facilitators of youth treatment engagement; and (2) evaluate treatment acceptability and fit of treatment from the youth perspective. Youth participants completed semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. Participants described numerous facilitators to engagement (e.g., positive therapeutic relationship) and reported high overall satisfaction with the intervention, while also identifying barriers to engagement (e.g., concerns about confidentiality) and offering suggestions to increase fit and acceptability (e.g., more visually appealing treatment materials). Findings highlight ways in which engagement can be enhanced and implementation supports improved to maximize treatment effectiveness among minoritized and disadvantaged youth in LMICs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203714941&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s44202-024-00154-1
DO - 10.1007/s44202-024-00154-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 38686018
SN - 2731-4537
VL - 4
SP - 43
JO - Discover psychology
JF - Discover psychology
IS - 1
M1 - 43
ER -