# Effectiveness and Implementation of an Early Childhood School-Based Mental Health Intervention in Low-Resource Communities

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2020 · $674,506

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The burden of pediatric mental, neurological, and substance (MNS) disorders in low-and middle-income
countries (LMICs) is tremendous. Although efforts have been made to improve mental health interventions and
services for young children, and a number of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) developed in high-income
countries have been successfully transported and demonstrated to be efficacious for improving children’s
mental health in LMICs, many critical gaps remain. From the effectiveness research perspective, most EBIs
adapted to LMICs have not been scaled widely, examined effectiveness and mechanisms, or focused on
preventive interventions in early childhood. From the implementation perspective, most EBIs in LMICs rely on
task-shifting approach of implementation because of shortage of mental health professionals (MHPs);
however, challenges related to task-shifting have rarely been addressed. The overall goal of this application is
to respond to these gaps by studying effectiveness of a population-approach EBI to promote early childhood
mental health in one LMIC-Uganda, as well as simultaneously studying strategies that address task-shifting
challenges to maximize EBI effectiveness. The EBI considered in this study is ParentCorps-Professional
Development (PD), a school-based EBI that trains and support teachers to apply EBI strategies to promote
child mental health. The PD approach represents a task-shifting model of mental healthcare by shifting
preventive duties from professionals to teachers to promote children’s mental health. Two efficacy studies
conducted in Uganda and Nepal have demonstrated feasibility of task-shifting, and positive impacts on
children, teachers and schools The proposed study builds on the positive evidence and further study
effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and underlying mechanisms of PD using a scalable implementation
approach in multiple regions in Uganda. In addition, based on previous findings that nearly 80% of Ugandan
teachers (the EBI strategy users) experience occupational stress which threatens PD uptake, effectiveness,
and sustainment, we propose to test a teacher stress management package (T-Wellness) as an enhancement
to PD. Using a hybrid cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT), we will randomize 36 schools with 540
teachers and 1,980 parent-child pairs to one of three conditions: PD + T-Wellness (PDT), PD alone (PD), and
control. The Specific Aims are: 1) to evaluate the short- and longer-term effectiveness of PD and PDT,
relative to control; 2) to examine effectiveness mechanisms and theory of change underlying the PD and PDT;
and 3) to examine implementation contextual factors and mechanisms that contribute to effective task-shifting
and teachers’ uptake of EBI strategies within PD and PDT schools.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9954495
- **Project number:** 1R01MH122654-01
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Keng-Yen Huang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $674,506
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-08 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9954495

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9954495, Effectiveness and Implementation of an Early Childhood School-Based Mental Health Intervention in Low-Resource Communities (1R01MH122654-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9954495. Licensed CC0.

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