Build sustainable implementation science and dissemination research capacity in South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania for integrated mental health care.

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Although many low- and middle-income countries have adopted integration of mental health into primary health care as a strategy to increase access to mental health care, many governance and systems challenges to scale-up remain, including challenges with mental health data systems. Scale-up of integrated mental health services requires an adequate information system, which includes mental health metrics to measure changes in the treatment coverage, monitor quality of care and collect data to inform evidence-based planning of scaled-up integrated care; as well as human resource capacity for data collection and data management to inform evidence-based planning of scaled-up integrated care. Our partnership with the University of Washington (UW), including International Training & Education Center for Health’s (I-TECH) presence in Tanzania for 10 years, Mozambique for 10 years, and South Africa for 13 years, as well as Health Alliance International (HAI) provides an existing partnership platform with each country’s Ministry of Health that can be leveraged for capacity building in Implementation Science and Dissemination Research (ISDR) in three neighbouring countries in southern Africa: South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania. The specific aims of the Capacity Building Core are: Aim 1. To build ISDR capacity in South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania, providing real-world research opportunities, mentorship and necessary knowledge to conduct optimal scale-up of evidence-based integrated mental health care. The first sub-aim is to train and mentor health care providers, district and provincial managers, researchers, and policymakers in ISDR, data management and manuscript/grant writing at collaborating institutions in Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa. The second sub-aim will be to provide trainees with practical opportunities with structured mentoring and funding to conduct pilot studies in ISDR, strengthening data systems/cost effectiveness research in integrated mental health models in chronic disease and antenatal care. Aim 2: To build sustainable local resources for ongoing capacity building for ISDR for integrated mental health in the southern African region. We will select trainees from the first cohort in each of the three countries with an interest and ability to become trainers in the ISDR model. These trainees will provide trainings alongside capacity-building mentors in subsequent short courses. We will work with the CRH capacity-building coordinator to build a library of curricular materials in databases at hub Administrative Core headquarters at the University of KwaZulu-Natal that can be used for the provision of locally run ISDR trainings. The trainee and scale-up projects will lead to a contextually relevant toolbox of learnings, innovations and resources across the hub countries which will contribute to this library, available beyond the life of the hub.