Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that a youth-delivered intervention model demonstrated potential in addressing the mental health needs of teens and young adults in Botswana. This model was particularly promising in underserved groups such as younger adolescents and those living with HIV. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Based on Zimbabwe’s adult-oriented Friendship Bench intervention, CHOP researchers created Safe Haven to meet the needs of youth in Botswana. Safe Haven engages trained youth community members to use problem-solving therapy (PST) to support young people showing symptoms of mild-to-moderate depression, anxiety, or substance use. Based on feedback from community advisory groups, youth were trained to use the problem solving therapy (or PST) since younger people were more likely to relate to people closer to their own age.
“The adolescent mental health treatment gap is a significant public health challenge, especially in low-resource settings where services are both scarce and often adult-oriented,” said first author Merrian Brooks, DO, MS, an Adolescent Medicine Specialist at CHOP and Director of Pediatrics and Research for the Botswana-UPenn Partnership. “We have learned so much about how to deliver the Safe Haven program and it was rewarding to see that the youth led model has promise of being successful.”
Between October 2020 and March 2023, 115 participants aged 12 to 25 were recruited from clinical and community sites. They were assessed pre- and post-intervention with mental health screening tools that showed depression scores improved for 78% of participants, anxiety scores improved for 86% of participants, and general mental health symptom scores improved for 93% participants. Additionally, no participants reported moderately severe or severe depression symptoms or severe anxiety after their intervention.
“This pilot study suggests that this is a promising approach that should be tested in randomized and larger studies,” said senior author, Elizabeth Lowenthal, MD, MSCE, Research Director of the CHOP Global Health Center. “The approach has the potential to be scaled across diverse settings and populations to dramatically improve mental health support for youth in resource-limited settings.”
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Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that a youth-delivered intervention model demonstrated potential in addressing the mental health needs of teens and young adults in Botswana. This model was particularly promising in underserved groups such as younger adolescents and those living with HIV. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Based on Zimbabwe’s adult-oriented Friendship Bench intervention, CHOP researchers created Safe Haven to meet the needs of youth in Botswana. Safe Haven engages trained youth community members to use problem-solving therapy (PST) to support young people showing symptoms of mild-to-moderate depression, anxiety, or substance use. Based on feedback from community advisory groups, youth were trained to use the problem solving therapy (or PST) since younger people were more likely to relate to people closer to their own age.
“The adolescent mental health treatment gap is a significant public health challenge, especially in low-resource settings where services are both scarce and often adult-oriented,” said first author Merrian Brooks, DO, MS, an Adolescent Medicine Specialist at CHOP and Director of Pediatrics and Research for the Botswana-UPenn Partnership. “We have learned so much about how to deliver the Safe Haven program and it was rewarding to see that the youth led model has promise of being successful.”
Between October 2020 and March 2023, 115 participants aged 12 to 25 were recruited from clinical and community sites. They were assessed pre- and post-intervention with mental health screening tools that showed depression scores improved for 78% of participants, anxiety scores improved for 86% of participants, and general mental health symptom scores improved for 93% participants. Additionally, no participants reported moderately severe or severe depression symptoms or severe anxiety after their intervention.
“This pilot study suggests that this is a promising approach that should be tested in randomized and larger studies,” said senior author, Elizabeth Lowenthal, MD, MSCE, Research Director of the CHOP Global Health Center. “The approach has the potential to be scaled across diverse settings and populations to dramatically improve mental health support for youth in resource-limited settings.”
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