A mental health training program for community health workers in India: impact on knowledge and attitudes

A pre-test post-test study design was undertaken with assessment of mental health literacy at three time points; baseline, completion of the training, and three month follow-up. Mental health literacy was assessed using the interviewer-administered Mental Health Literacy Survey. The training intervention was a four day course based on a facilitator's manual developed specifically for community health workers in India.70 community health workers from Doddaballapur, Bangalore Rural District were recuited for the study. The training course improved participants' ability to recognize a mental disorder in a vignette, and reduced participants' faith in unhelpful and potentially harmful pharmacological interventions. There was evidence of a minor reduction in stigmatizing attitudes, and it was unclear if the training resulted in a change in participants' faith in recovery following treatment.The findings from this study indicate that the training course demonstrated potential to be an effective way to improve some aspects of mental health literacy, and highlights strategies for strengthening the training course.Mental disorders are both disabling and costly for affected individuals, their families and the community. Mental disorders are increasingly recognised as a major contributor to the global health burden, including in low income countries (LICs), and they are often co-morbid with communicable and non-communicable diseases [1,2]. Mental health remains a low priority in most LICs, and unmet needs for mental health treatment are pervasive [3-5]. Up to 90% of persons with mental disorders in low and middle-income countries do not receive even basic mental health care [4,6]. This neglect continues despite overwhelming evidence that effective low-cost treatments (drugs, psychological treatments, and community based rehabilitation) are feasible, affordable and cost-effective for many mental disorders, and could be successfully delivered in primary health care (PHC) settings