The HAPPINESS Project, which works to increase access to evidence-based treatments for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in Nigeria, is expanding its services to people living with HIV/AIDS.
The program, which provides training, ongoing clinical support, and refresher training for primary care teams in Nigeria, has received a three-year grant from the Center of Global Engagement at the University of Maryland Baltimore to integrate mental health care into HIV programs and clinics in Imo State, Nigeria.
Imo State is one of 36 states in Nigeria where it is virtually impossible to get a mental health care from a specialist. Under the leadership of Theddeus Iheanacho, MD, associate professor adjunct of psychiatry, The HAPPINESS Project has worked to provide more mental health services to residents of Imo State, and to expand training for clinicians.
The new project will involve training clinicians in HIV clinics covering five modules:
- Essential Care and Practice
- Depression
- Psychosis
- Substance Use Disorders
- Suicide Prevention Among People Living With HIV/AIDS
The trainees will include community health workers, nurses, and doctors who will be trained to screen, assess, and treat patients receiving HIV services for comorbid mental disorders.
The program will also establish consultation, referral, and supervision framework with mental health specialists that will utilize mobile technology and telehealth for virtual clinical support, supervision, and continuing education. Each participating clinic will have access to at least one supervising psychiatrist/mental health specialist and will hold once-a-month virtual clinical supervisory meeting and as-needed clinical consultation/referral.
To plan for further expansion and scale up, the team will obtain implementation data including acceptability, adoption, feasibility, fidelity, implementation costs, and potential for sustainment.
“We are excited to partner with Imo State Agency for the Control of AIDS and University of Maryland School of Nursing, Global Health Department on this important expansion of The HAPPINESS Project,” Iheanacho said.