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SUMMARY:Can we develop cost-effective interventions for youth mental healt
 h? Lessons from Kenya - Tom Osborn\, Shamiri Institute
DTSTART:20211021T113000Z
DTEND:20211021T123000Z
UID:TALK161410@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:87079
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract*\nDeveloping cost-effective interventions for youth 
 mental health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is an urgent pub
 lic health priority. Over the past years\, our multicultural team has deve
 loped and tested interventions for adolescent depression and anxiety sympt
 oms. Our intervention development approach was informed by the belief that
  youth mental health interventions in low-resource communities may benefit
  from including empirically supported elements\, using stigma-free content
 \, and using trained lay-providers. \nWe developed Shamiri—a 4-week\, la
 y-provider-delivered group intervention that teaches growth mindset\, grat
 itude\, and value affirmation—for adolescent depression and anxiety. The
  content is delivered by recent high school graduates (ages 18 - 22) train
 ed as lay-providers. Participants meet in school once-a-week in groups of 
 9-12 youths (average group size 10). \nIn a 2018 pilot RCT (N = 51)\, we f
 ound that compared to an active control\, Shamiri produced greater reducti
 ons in adolescent depression symptoms (p = .038\; d = .32) and anxiety sym
 ptoms (p = .039\; d = .54) from baseline to four-week follow-up\, and grea
 ter improvements in academic performance (p = .034\; d = .32) from the sch
 ool-term before versus after the intervention. This was the first report t
 hat a brief\, lay-provider delivered\, community-based intervention may re
 duce internalizing symptoms and improve academic outcomes in high-symptom 
 adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa. \nIn a 2019 high-powered pre-registered
  and gold-standard RCT (N = 413)\, Shamiri showed greater reductions in de
 pressive symptoms at post-treatment (Cohen d=0.35 [95%CI 0.09-0.60])\, 2-w
 eeks (Cohen d =0.28 [95%CI 0.04-0.54])\, and 7-months (Cohen d=0.45 [95%CI
  0.19-0.71])\, and greater reductions in anxiety symptoms at post-treatmen
 t (Cohen d=0.37\, [95%CI 0.11-0.63])\, 2-weeks (Cohen d=0.26 [95%CI -0.01-
 0.53])\, and 7-months (Cohen d=0.44 [95%CI 0.18-0.71]). These findings con
 firmed that this kind of intervention may prove useful in other global set
 tings where limited resources\, mental illness stigma\, or a shortage of p
 rofessionals limit access to mental health care. \nOverall\, our work in K
 enya has shown that simple psychological interventions that focus on posit
 ive human attributes rather than psychopathology\, are delivered by lay-pr
 oviders\, and are developed through multicultural collaboration may reduce
  depression and anxiety symptoms and should be considered for use in low-r
 esource settings.\n\n*Biography*\nTom Osborn is the founder and Executive 
 Director of Shamiri Institute\, a data-driven public benefit organization 
 that combines social science research with a deep contextual knowledge of 
 local communities to develop and scale mental health care to young people 
 across Sub-Saharan Africa and especially Kenya\, where 45 percent of young
  people report clinical depression. Shamiri Institute currently provides m
 ental healthcare to 7\,5000 Kenyan youths.\nBorn and raised in poverty —
  receiving >$300\,000 in academic scholarships — Tom has developed a rep
 utation as a community mobilizer\, entrepreneur\, and global mental health
  researcher. At 18\, he co-founded GreenChar\, a social enterprise that pr
 ovided homes and institutions in rural Kenya and urban slums with clean en
 ergy. For his work and leadership at GreenChar\, he was the youngest recip
 ient of Echoing Green Fellowship – an award for the world’s best socia
 l entrepreneurs. At 19\, he was named on the Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in
  Social Entrepreneurship\, the second youngest person to receive the honor
 . He has also been awarded the Women Deliver Social Entrepreneur Award in 
 2016\, the Anzisha Prize Energy Award and many other awards. Salt Magazine
  has also listed him as 30 under 30 social entrepreneur. \nTom is a 2021TE
 D Fellow—given to doers who have shown unusual accomplishment\, exceptio
 nal courage\, and are creating positive change around the world—and an A
 cumen Fellow. Tom graduated from Harvard College with a Bachelor’s in Ps
 ychology (High Honors). For more information about Tom Osborn\, please vis
 it https://www.shamiri.institute/co-founders/tom-osborn\n\n
LOCATION: Webinar  (via Zoom online)
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