Effect of adding a psychological intervention to routine care of common mental disorders in a specialized mental healthcare facility in Pakistan: a randomized controlled trial



Hamdani, Syed Usman, Huma, Zill-e- ORCID: 0000-0002-2681-1771, Masood, Aqsa, Zhou, Kaina, Ahmed, Zainab, Nazir, Huma, Amin, Hania, Akhtar, Parveen, Bryant, Richard A, Dawson, Katie
et al (show 4 more authors) (2021) Effect of adding a psychological intervention to routine care of common mental disorders in a specialized mental healthcare facility in Pakistan: a randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 15 (1). 11-.

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Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>In many low resource settings, the provision of government mental health care services is limited to specialized psychiatry units in urban hospital care facilities, where the most common treatment for common mental disorders (CMDs) is pharmacotherapy, occasionally with adjunct nonspecific psychological support. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of adding a low intensity, psychological intervention, Problem Management Plus (PM+) for CMDs into routine care in a specialized mental health care facility in Pakistan.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>A two arm, single-blind individual randomized controlled trial (RCT) was carried out with adults (N = 192), referred for psychological support by psychiatrists. The study participants were randomized (1:1) to PM + plus Treatment as Usual (TAU) (n = 96) or TAU only (n = 96). The primary outcomes were symptoms of anxiety and depression, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and functional impairment as measured by WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0) at 20 weeks after baseline.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>The analysis was done on intention-to-treat principle. The linear mixed model analysis showed that at 20 weeks after baseline, there was a significant reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression (mean [SD], 16.23 [8.81] vs 19.79 [7.77]; AMD, − 3.10; 95% CI, − 0.26 to − 5.76); <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.03 and improvement in functioning (mean [SD], 22.94 [9.37] vs 27.37 [8.36]; AMD, − 4.35; 95% CI, − 1.45 to − 7.24); <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.004 in PM + plus TAU versus TAU arm. The follow-up rate was 67% at primary end-point.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>Specialized care facilities in LMICs may consider adding brief, evidence-based psychological treatments for CMDs to their routine care.</jats:p> <jats:p><jats:italic>Trial Registration</jats:italic> Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12616000381482. Registered March 23, 2016. Retrospectively registered, <jats:ext-link xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://www.anzctr.org.au/Default.aspx/">https://www.anzctr.org.au/Default.aspx/</jats:ext-link> ACTRN12616000381482</jats:p> </jats:sec>

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Low intensity psychological intervention, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Specialized mental health facility, Common mental disorders, Depression, Anxiety
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 22 Jan 2021 08:04
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 23:02
DOI: 10.1186/s13033-020-00434-y
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3114437