Saturday, October 23, 2021
10/23/2021
With 29 million people and only 18 psychiatrists (trained abroad) and 125 clinical psychologists, none of whom had a PhD prior to this D43, Mozambique faces enormous mental health (MH) care challenges. To address the country’s large MH treatment and research gaps, through a North- South-South collaboration between the US, Brazil and Mozambique, our PALOPmhIS-1 (Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa –Portuguese-speaking African countries– MH implementation science; 2014-2019) D43 program has provided individually mentored hands-on research and didactic training to four senior mentors from other medical fields and 11 trainees, the majority of whom are women. We have had an enviable ‘return-on-investment’ in only five years surpassing our targets: a) Research capacity building: nine fellows and two others are in the final stages of obtaining their PhDs and Masters in Brazil, respectively (15 publications in international journals); b) Research funding: fellows have become valuable investigators, and as a team, we have garnered over $8.5 million in NIH-funded research; c) Implementation science (IS): in a multiplier effect, fellows oversaw the training of 25 trainers, who in turn are training 300 primary care providers and 900 community health workers in evidence-based practices (EBPs) targeting common mental disorders (Interpersonal Counseling), substance use disorders (Motivational Interviewing), severe disorders (Psychiatric Medications), and suicidal risk (Safety Planning), as part of two NIH-funded studies scaling-up comprehensive MH (NIMH) and substance use (NIAAA) care integrated into primary care using mobile health technology; and, d) Policy impact: our team, which includes Ministry of Health personnel, is leading the integration of electronic medical records for clinical and research purposes, previously functioning as separate disease-silos. We also initiated training activities for other PALOP countries. In response to evolving needs and opportunities, PALOPmhIS-2 will (Objective 1) recruit and support long- term (4 years) doctoral training of eight Fellows integrating a novel concentration in MH IS within a Public Health PhD program in Mozambique; (Objective 2) offer past PALOPmhIS D43 graduates (N=11) and other Mozambican Mid-Level Faculty (N=50) medium-term training on new scientific content: MH IS sustainability (Fogarty International Center Strategic Plan Goal 3), e- Health (Goal 2), health informatics, EMR, large datasets, multimorbidities; and (Objective 3) train five graduates in research leadership towards independence and local program sustainability. We will extend training to other local and regional partners (Goal 1); pursue further research funding opportunities, and continue to train the local workforce while scaling up the use of e-Health EBIs.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
