Relief From Stress Via Social Protection in Senegal

Summary

Despite the growing prevalence of mental health disorders in low- and middle-income countries, significant barriers to seeking and accessing mental health services persist. Within lower income populations, the prevalence of mental health disorders and barriers to addressing them are worsened by poverty. Self-Help Plus is a group-based stress management program delivered using a task-sharing model and designed to circumvent barriers to addressing mental health concerns. Cultural adaptations of Self-Help Plus have been implemented in several countries and are considered cost-effective. However, to date, Self-Help Plus has not been adapted for Senegalese populations. The study detailed in this manuscript aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of Self-Help Plus in lower income populations in Senegal.

The study is a pilot feasibility cluster-randomized control trial of Self-Help Plus in four Senegalese communities. Clusters of social protection program beneficiaries will be randomly selected to receive five sessions of Self-Help Plus. The intervention will be delivered in groups of up to 30 beneficiaries and co-facilitated by two community workers. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used to assess the feasibility and acceptability of both the Self-Help Plus intervention and randomized control trial procedures. The study sample will include social protection program beneficiaries in the treatment and control groups, Self-Help Plus facilitators, project staff supporting the training of facilitators, and the intervention supervisor.

The findings of this study will be used to inform the potential integration of Self-Help Plus and/or similar mental health interventions into the national social protection program in Senegal.

Conditions

• Distress, Psychological
• Depression - Major Depressive Disorder
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Interventions

OTHER

Community worker training

Training community workers in Self Help Plus intervention, a 5 session self-help intervention based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

OTHER

Referral to Health System

Referral to Health System of Senegal

Sponsors & Collaborators

• World Bank

  collaborator OTHER

• Centre de Recherche Pour le Développement Economique et Social (CRDES)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Georgetown University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Syed S Wahid, Doctor of Public Health · Georgetown University

• Anne Hilger, PhD · World Bank

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-02-24

Primary Completion

2025-10-31

Completion

2025-10-31

Countries

• Senegal

Study Locations