UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

The Healthy Activity Program lay counsellor delivered treatment for severe depression in India: systematic development and randomised evaluation

Chowdhary, N; Anand, A; Dimidjian, S; Shinde, S; Weobong, B; Balaji, M; Hollon, SD; ... Patel, V; + view all (2016) The Healthy Activity Program lay counsellor delivered treatment for severe depression in India: systematic development and randomised evaluation. British Journal of Psychiatry , 208 (4) pp. 381-388. 10.1192/bjp.bp.114.161075. Green open access

[thumbnail of King_381.full.pdf]
Preview
Text
King_381.full.pdf

Download (712kB) | Preview

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Reducing the global treatment gap for mental disorders requires treatments that are economical, effective and culturally appropriate. AIMS: To describe a systematic approach to the development of a brief psychological treatment for patients with severe depression delivered by lay counsellors in primary healthcare. METHOD: The treatment was developed in three stages using a variety of methods: (a) identifying potential strategies; (b) developing a theoretical framework; and (c) evaluating the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of the psychological treatment. RESULTS: The Healthy Activity Program (HAP) is delivered over 6-8 sessions and consists of behavioral activation as the core psychological framework with added emphasis on strategies such as problem-solving and activation of social networks. Key elements to improve acceptability and feasibility are also included. In an intention-to-treat analysis of a pilot randomised controlled trial (55 participants), the prevalence of depression (Beck Depression Inventory II ⩾19) after 2 months was lower in the HAP than the control arm (adjusted risk ratio = 0.55, 95% CI 0.32-0.94,P= 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our systematic approach to the development of psychological treatments could be extended to other mental disorders. HAP is an acceptable and effective brief psychological treatment for severe depression delivered by lay counsellors in primary care.

Type: Article
Title: The Healthy Activity Program lay counsellor delivered treatment for severe depression in India: systematic development and randomised evaluation
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.114.161075
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.114.161075
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1493728
Downloads since deposit
218Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item