# Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Intervention for People with Severe Mental Illness in Low- and Middle-Income Country Primary Care Settings

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2020 · $188,619

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Background: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have very few mental health professionals. Given the chronic
nature of mental disorders, primary care clinics may be best positioned to address mental health in LMICs. However,
little is known about factors that influence real-world service delivery, access, quality, and sustainability of mental health
interventions in LMIC primary care. Researching whether and how mental health services can be feasibly and effectively
delivered in LMIC primary care is a NIMH priority and a grand challenge in global mental health. Severe mental illness
(SMI) is the most common form of mental illness seen in primary care clinics in LMICs, and is a top contributor to the
burden of disease. People with SMI are at high risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is
associated with more severe psychiatric symptoms, functional impairment, and worse treatment outcomes. Specific
aims: The current study proposes to develop and assess the feasibility, effectiveness and implementation of a
psychotherapy intervention to treat PTSD in patients with SMI in primary care clinics in rural Ethiopia. Aim 1: To conduct
semi-structured qualitative interviews with patients, caregivers, providers and community members (n=60) and one
community advisory board (n=17) to identify clinically and culturally relevant characteristics of the population and
characterize barriers and facilitators to intervention adoption, implementation and sustainability. Results will be used to
assess the fit and development of the intervention; Aim 2: To conduct a mixed methods open trial to refine the
intervention and explore initial treatment effects (n=20 patients, 20 caregivers); Aim 3: To conduct a mixed methods
multi-stakeholder process evaluation to assess intervention implementation as measured by the RE-AIM implementation
framework (n=20 patients, 20 caregivers, 7 providers). Candidate: This Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career
Development Award (K23) builds upon the candidate's experience in trauma-focused global mental health research in
low-income countries. The candidate's long-term career goal is to be an independent investigator of evidence-based
interventions for PTSD and SMI in LMICs. Training objectives: The K23 provides training and mentorship in (1) the
course, prevalence and treatment of comorbid PTSD and SMI; (2) health services research, including methods to
evaluate how healthcare is delivered and accessed in Ethiopian primary care, and factors that might influence delivery of
a psychosocial intervention for PTSD; and (3) implementation science methods to decrease “science-to-service” gaps in
providing mental health care in LMIC primary care, including hybrid effectiveness-implementation trials. Training
activities. Training will be achieved through mentorship by experts (Drs. David Henderson, Abebaw Fekadu, Charlotte
Hanlon, Kim Mueser, and Graham Thornicroft), field-based experience in Ethiopi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9989905
- **Project number:** 5K23MH110601-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Lauren Christina Ng
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $188,619
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9989905

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9989905, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Intervention for People with Severe Mental Illness in Low- and Middle-Income Country Primary Care Settings (5K23MH110601-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9989905. Licensed CC0.

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