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Sponsor: University of Maryland, College Park

Conditions: Mental Health, Community Health Workers, Training, Global Health, Burnout

Interventions: Khanya-Ekhaya

Countries: South Africa

Mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and harmful alcohol use are prevalent among people with chronic diseases, including HIV, and contribute to poor engagement in care. There is a need to address untreated mental health problems. Community health workers (CHWs) are frontline workers who play a central role in supporting vulnerable individuals to stay in care, including seeking people living with HIV who are newly initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) or re-initiating after a period of care disengagement. CHW-delivered interventions are promising for improving engagement and retention in care. Yet, these programs rarely address mental health -a significant barrier to chronic disease care engagement and treatment. An approach that moves beyond providing care in the clinic setting is needed. Community-delivered mental health care shows promise for integration into broader community health care services for people with chronic conditions, such as HIV. However, as CHWs are taking on more mental health care roles and community-based work, our team's preliminary research has demonstrated that high levels of stress and burnout are important considerations for successful implementation of these models.