Schizophrenia Assessment, Referral and Awareness Training for Health Auxiliaries (SARATHA): Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Pilot Study in Rural India

John A. Naslund (), Vidhi Tyagi, Azaz Khan, Saher Siddiqui, Minal Kakra Abhilashi, Pooja Dhurve, Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta, Abhijit Rozatkar, Urvita Bhatia, Anil Vartak, John Torous, Deepak Tugnawat and Anant Bhan
Additional contact information
John A. Naslund: Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Vidhi Tyagi: Sangath, Bhopal 462042, India
Azaz Khan: Sangath, Bhopal 462042, India
Saher Siddiqui: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
Minal Kakra Abhilashi: Sangath, New Delhi 110030, India
Pooja Dhurve: Sangath, Bhopal 462042, India
Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta: Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru 560029, India
Abhijit Rozatkar: Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhopal 462026, India
Urvita Bhatia: Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
Anil Vartak: Schizophrenia Awareness Association, Pune 411041, India
John Torous: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Deepak Tugnawat: Sangath, Bhopal 462042, India
Anant Bhan: Sangath, Bhopal 462042, India

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-15

Abstract: Background: Workforce shortages pose major obstacles to the timely detection and treatment of schizophrenia, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. The SARATHA (Schizophrenia Assessment, Referral, and Awareness Training for Health Auxiliaries) project involves the systematic development, iterative refinement, and pilot testing of a digital program for training community health workers in the early detection and referral of schizophrenia in primary care settings in rural India. Methods: SARATHA is a three-phase study. Phase 1 involves consulting with experts and clinicians, and drawing from existing evidence to inform the development of a curriculum for training community health workers. Phase 2 consists of designing and digitizing the training content for delivery on a smartphone app. Design workshops and focus group discussions will be conducted to seek input from community health workers and service users living with schizophrenia to guide revisions and refinements to the program content. Lastly, Phase 3 entails piloting the training program with a target sample of 20 community health workers to assess feasibility and acceptability. Preliminary effectiveness will be explored, as measured by community health workers’ changes in knowledge about schizophrenia and the program content after completing the training. Discussion: If successful, this digital training program will offer a potentially scalable approach for building capacity of frontline community health workers towards reducing delays in early detection of schizophrenia in primary care settings in rural India. This study can inform efforts to improve treatment outcomes for persons living with schizophrenia in low-resource settings.

Keywords: community health workers; schizophrenia; task-sharing; severe mental disorders; digital technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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