TY - JOUR
AU - K. Sorsdahl
AU - C. van der Westhuizen
AU - M. Neuman
AU - H. A. Weiss
AU - B. Myers
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: Like many low- and middle-income countries, almost half of the proportion of the South African population is under the age of 25. Given the peak age of onset for most mental health problems is in adolescence, it is vital that adolescents have access to mental health counselling. There are several initiatives to increase access to mental health counselling in South Africa, primarily through the integration of counselling for common mental disorders (CMD) into primary health care services, but adolescents (15-18 years of age) generally do not utilize these services. To address this gap, we will undertake a study to explore the feasibility of conducting a trial of the effectiveness of a community-based mental health counselling intervention for adolescents at-risk for a CMD. METHODS: The study is a feasibility trial of the ASPIRE intervention, a four-session blended multi-component counselling intervention adapted for South African adolescents at risk for depression and alcohol use disorders. We will enrol 100 adolescents from community settings and randomly assign them to the ASPIRE intervention or a comparison condition. Feasibility measures, such as rates of recruitment, consent to participate in the trial and retention, will be calculated. Qualitative interviews with participants and counsellors will explore the acceptability of the intervention. The primary outcomes for a subsequent trial would be reductions in symptoms of depression and days of heavy drinking which will be measured at baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months post-randomization. DISCUSSION: This feasibility trial using a mixed-methods design will allow us to determine whether we can move forward to a larger effectiveness trial of the ASPIRE intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR20200352214510). Registered 28 February 2020-retrospectively registered, https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/TrialDisplay.aspx?TrialID=9795.
AD - Alan J. Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. Katherine.sorsdahl@uct.ac.za.; Alan J. Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; MRC Tropical Epidemiology Group, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England.; MRC Tropical Epidemiology Group, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England.; Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.; Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
BT - Pilot and feasibility studies
C5 - Healthcare Disparities; Opioids & Substance Use
CP - 1
DO - 10.1186/s40814-021-00803-5
IS - 1
JF - Pilot and feasibility studies
LA - eng
M1 - Journal Article
N2 - BACKGROUND: Like many low- and middle-income countries, almost half of the proportion of the South African population is under the age of 25. Given the peak age of onset for most mental health problems is in adolescence, it is vital that adolescents have access to mental health counselling. There are several initiatives to increase access to mental health counselling in South Africa, primarily through the integration of counselling for common mental disorders (CMD) into primary health care services, but adolescents (15-18 years of age) generally do not utilize these services. To address this gap, we will undertake a study to explore the feasibility of conducting a trial of the effectiveness of a community-based mental health counselling intervention for adolescents at-risk for a CMD. METHODS: The study is a feasibility trial of the ASPIRE intervention, a four-session blended multi-component counselling intervention adapted for South African adolescents at risk for depression and alcohol use disorders. We will enrol 100 adolescents from community settings and randomly assign them to the ASPIRE intervention or a comparison condition. Feasibility measures, such as rates of recruitment, consent to participate in the trial and retention, will be calculated. Qualitative interviews with participants and counsellors will explore the acceptability of the intervention. The primary outcomes for a subsequent trial would be reductions in symptoms of depression and days of heavy drinking which will be measured at baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months post-randomization. DISCUSSION: This feasibility trial using a mixed-methods design will allow us to determine whether we can move forward to a larger effectiveness trial of the ASPIRE intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR20200352214510). Registered 28 February 2020-retrospectively registered, https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/TrialDisplay.aspx?TrialID=9795.
PY - 2021
SN - 2055-5784; 2055-5784; 2055-5784
SP - 69
T1 - Addressing the mental health needs of adolescents in South African communities: A protocol for a feasibility randomized controlled trial
T2 - Pilot and feasibility studies
TI - Addressing the mental health needs of adolescents in South African communities: A protocol for a feasibility randomized controlled trial
U1 - Healthcare Disparities; Opioids & Substance Use
U2 - 33726830
U3 - 10.1186/s40814-021-00803-5
VL - 7
VO - 2055-5784; 2055-5784; 2055-5784
Y1 - 2021
Y2 - Mar 16
ER -