AFrica Focus on Intervention Research for Mental health (AFFIRM)

描述（由申请人提供）：总体目标是建立一个研究和能力发展中心，以改善撒哈拉以南非洲地区提供具有成本效益的精神障碍干预措施。越来越多的国际共识认为，在低收入和中等收入国家（LMIC）需要采取任务转移方法，在这些国家中，低成本干预措施由普通卫生工作者在精神卫生专家的监督下，通过常规卫生保健提供系统提供。我们建议在5个非洲国家：南非、加纳、乌干达、津巴布韦、马拉维和埃塞俄比亚建立非洲精神卫生干预研究重点（AFFIRM）项目，其具体目标如下：1)调查缩小撒哈拉以南非洲精神障碍治疗差距的策略；2)在撒哈拉以南非洲建立个人和机构的干预研究能力；3)建立研究人员、非政府组织和政府机构之间的合作网络，促进研究知识转化为政策和实践；4)与其他区域NIMH中心合作。AFFIRM的主要创新将是，它将把研究、能力建设和网络发展与在撒哈拉以南非洲改善提供具有成本效益的精神卫生干预措施的共同目标结合起来。该中心将汇集一系列多学科的研究人员、政策制定者和非政府组织从业人员，并以MHaPP等以往的合作伙伴关系为基础，重点是在资源匮乏的初级保健环境中对任务转移的创新模型进行实证测试。我们将通过三个重叠的阶段实施AFFIRM计划。启动阶段（头6个月）将包括在开普敦大学公共精神卫生中心建立行政核心；为每个研究地点（埃塞俄比亚和南非）制定详细的协议；在所有AFFIRM合作伙伴中进行能力建设需求评估，并与其他区域中心联系。实施阶段将在第1-4年进行，包括试点和开展研究、实施能力发展计划和开展共享项目。第三至五年的最后阶段将是评价和传播。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal is to establish a Hub for research and capacity development to improve the delivery of cost effective interventions for mental disorders in sub-Saharan Africa. There is growing international consensus that a task shifting approach is required in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) in which low cost interventions are delivered by general health workers, supervised by mental health specialists, through routine health care delivery systems. We propose to establish the AFrica Focus on Intervention Research for Mental health (AFFIRM) program, in 5 African countries: South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Ethiopia, with the following four specific aims: 1) To investigate strategies for narrowing the treatment gap for mental disorders in sub-Saharan Africa; 2) To build individual and institutional capacity for intervention research in sub-Saharan Africa; 3) To establish a network of collaboration between researchers, NGOs and government agencies that facilitates the translation of research knowledge into policy and practice; 4) To collaborate with other regional NIMH hubs. The primary innovation of AFFIRM will be that it will integrate research, capacity building and network development with a shared goal of improving the delivery of cost-effective mental health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. The Hub will bring together a range of multi-disciplinary researchers, policy makers and NGO practitioners, and build on previous partnerships, such as the MHaPP, with a focus on empirically testing innovative models of task shifting in low resource PHC settings. We will implement the AFFIRM program through three overlapping phases. The inception phase (1st 6 months) will involve establishing the Administrative core at the Centre for Public Mental Health, University of Cape Town; developing a detailed protocol for each of the research sites (Ethiopia and South Africa); conducting a capacity building needs assessment among all AFFIRM partners and making contact with other regional hubs. The implementation phase, carried out in years 1-4, will involve piloting and conducting the research, implementing the capacity-development plan and carrying out the shared projects. The final stage, conducted in years 3-5 will be evaluation and dissemination.