Programmatic Implementation of Depression Screening and Remote Mental Health Support Sessions for Persons Recently Diagnosed with TB in Lima, Peru During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Keywords
Depression, Mental Health, Tuberculosis, Psychological First Aid, Peru
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2024.21
Abstract
Background: Few studies have explored a stepped care model for delivering mental health care to persons with tuberculosis (TB). Here, we evaluated depression screening and remote low-intensity mental health interventions for persons initiating TB treatment in Lima, Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We used the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) to screen participants for depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 5). Participants with PHQ-9, 5–14 received remote Psychological First Aid (PFA) or Problem Management Plus (PM+). Participants were reevaluated 6 months after intervention completion. We then compared the change in median PHQ-9 scores before and after intervention completion. Those with PHQ-9 ≥ 15 were referred to higher-level care. Findings: We found that 62 (45.9%) of the 135 participants had PHQ-9 ≥ 5 at baseline. Then, 54 individuals with PHQ-9, 5–9 received PFA, of which 44 (81.5%) were reevaluated. We observed significant reductions in median PHQ-9 scores from 6 to 2 (r = 0.98; p < 0.001). Four participants with PHQ-9, 10–14 received PM+ but were unable to be reevaluated. Four participants with PHQ-9 ≥ 15 were referred to higher-level care. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms were common among persons recently diagnosed with TB. We observed improvements in depressive symptoms 6 months later for most participants who received remote sessions of PFA.
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health, v. 11, art. e59
Scholar Commons Citation
Contreras, Carmen; Cruz, Janeth Santa; Galea, Jerome; Chu, Alexander L.; Puma, Daniela; Ramos, Lourdes; Tovar, Marco; Peinado, Jesús; Lecca, Leonid; Keshavjee, Salmaan; Yuen, Courtney M.; and Raviola, Giuseppe, "Programmatic Implementation of Depression Screening and Remote Mental Health Support Sessions for Persons Recently Diagnosed with TB in Lima, Peru During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2024). Social Work Faculty Publications. 273.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/sok_facpub/273
