Developing training packages for traditional/faith healers and community health workers; raising community awareness

We will hold workshops with faith/traditional healers and CHWs to co-produce two training packages. The training package for healers will aim to help them identify signs of SMIs in individuals who seek their care, so that they can refer them to the local primary care centre or to a CHW. An essential component of the training package for healers will involve convincing them that our intervention is not designed to displace faith or traditional healing practices with biomedical care, but rather to serve as a complement to their role.

For CHWs, we will modify the mhGAP Intervention and Guide based on local contextual factors identified through WP1 and based on previous work, including local taxonomies of mental illness and ideas on causation and help-seeking. The CHW training will upskill them to deliver community-based interventions, including screening and early identification of those with SMIs, psychoeducation, promoting medication adherence, referral and navigation to secondary care services, support for carers and community health promotion. It will also include a component pertaining to effectively liaising with traditional/faith healers, particularly for identifying those with SMIs who need additional care.

We will also coproduce media in diverse formats, such as posters and radio adverts to engage communities with the intervention, informed by findings from WP1.