Innovative Interventions
Through our research, and under the direction of primary investigator Dr. Yang Jae Lee, ETH is constantly working to develop innovative, effective interventions to promote mental health and wellbeing at scale within Uganda and worldwide.
Using preliminary data from studies conducted during our Global Health Experiential Fellowship, we have developed three novel intervention programs: BRIDGE-P, designed to target improving medication adherence among patients with severe mental illness after hospital discharge, Safe Support Activation, designed to improve suicide screening protocols, and Reconnect, a program to facilitate school reintegration for youth that have dropped out, relying on existing community platforms. These interventions are under review for large-scale research grants to test their efficacy. If found to be effective, these projects would mean using our research findings not only to benefit individuals in the local community where we operate, but to help improve care for thousands of people suffering from mental illness across Uganda, and eventually across the world.
Read more about each of these interventions below:
BRIDGE-P: Bridging Discharge to Medication Continuity for Psychosis
Safe Support Activation: Rethinking Suicide Screening in Clinical Settings
Reconnect: Facilitating School Reintegration Through Existing Community Platforms
Using data from two Global Health Experiential Fellowship studies on severe mental illness, this intervention seeks to improve rates of medication adherence for patients with psychotic disorders discharged from psychiatric hospitals in limited-resource settings. This intervention utilizes three main components: training for family members and caregivers before patients are discharged, working with local community health workers to ensure that treatment continues, and creating a plan to escalate patient care when necessary. By meaningfully improving adherence to antipsychotic medication, this intervention would lead to huge reductions in relapse for patients across Uganda, not only improving patient wellbeing but also greatly reducing the likelihood of suicide among a high-risk population.
Drawing on preliminary research conducted during GHEF, this intervention seeks to improve suicide prevention by making it safer and more acceptable for patients to disclose suicidal thoughts and by ensuring that disclosure leads to meaningful, patient-directed support. The intervention utilizes three main components: Ask, which clearly explains privacy, information use, and patients’ choices before suicide screening; Connect, which creates a patient-directed support plan involving a trusted person alongside clinical care; and Protect, which follows up to ensure that planned support is delivered while monitoring for potential social harm. By addressing the barriers that prevent people from disclosing suicidal thoughts, this intervention could substantially improve suicide risk identification and prevention in rural Uganda, and could provide a transferable framework for improving suicide prevention in other low-resource areas and U.S. health systems.
Using data from research conducted by fellows in rural eastern Uganda, this intervention seeks to prevent the progression from school discontinuation to social isolation, mental health problems, and economic instability. The RECONNECT intervention targets the shame and anticipated stigma that often follow leaving school, which can cause young people to withdraw from former classmates, community activities, and opportunities for work or further education. Delivered by trained community mentors through existing youth and community platforms, the intervention uses behavioral activation principles to reduce avoidance, gradually rebuild social engagement and daily structure, and support safe re-entry into school, work, or other meaningful roles.
In Buyende district, Empower Through Health collaborated with local communities to implement an innovative mental health de-stigmatization program. Recognizing the profound impact of stigma on access to mental health care, we turned to an unexpected yet powerful tool: community theater.
The Power of Storytelling
This intervention brought together community members to create and perform educational theater presentations. Using relatable, culturally sensitive storytelling, these performances addressed common mental health misconceptions, showcased the realities of living with mental illness, and highlighted pathways for seeking help.
The play depicted the journey of an individual with mental illness, transitioning from severe debilitation and ostracism to becoming a productive, integrated member of society. By giving a face and voice to those with similar struggles, the performance humanized their experiences and fostered greater understanding within the community.
Key outcomes of this initiative include:
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Increased Awareness: Audience members reported a better understanding of mental health issues and reduced stigma towards individuals with mental illnesses.
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Community Engagement: By integrating theater into health education, the program fostered open dialogues, making mental health discussions less intimidating and more accessible.
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Locally-Led Solutions: Empowering community members to lead the performances ensured that the intervention resonated deeply with the community, fostering trust and sustainability.
The effectiveness of this community-led theater intervention was evaluated twice — first immediately after implementation and again twelve months later — to assess both short- and long-term impact. Findings from each evaluation were published in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrating that locally designed, creative approaches can sustainably reduce stigma and strengthen community engagement.
Read the publications here: Initial Evaluation | 12-Month Follow-Up Evaluation