"No survey without service." Applied Mental Health Research (AMHR) Group is comprised of two faculty members at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and one faculty member from the Center for International Health and Development (CIHD) at the Boston University School of Public Health. The AMHR group primarily provides technical assistance to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other implementers of mental health interventions for populations in low- and middle-income countries.
The services we provide take the form of building capacity in needs assessments, and program design, monitoring and evaluation (DM&E). Capacity building is done through both collaboration and training on related activities, including using qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate a target population's needs (e.g., identifying salient mental health and psychosocial problems and measuring their prevalence), developing screening tools for recruitment into interventions, and conducting impact assessments. The AMHR group has many years of combined experience in needs assessments, design, monitoring and evaluation and has developed expertise in each of these areas.
The AMHR group's research is closely associated with the technical assistance described above and includes qualitative studies of needs and resources, quantitative prevalence studies and randomized controlled trials of interventions. The research approach is embedded within the technical service provision.
Much of the AMHR group's research agenda arises from the fact that, unlike many other fields of international health, most mental health and psychosocial interventions have little or no data supporting their use in non-Western contexts. Data on the impact of interventions is particularly lacking for most of the populations with which we work. This is a critical issue since most interventions come from Western and developed countries and their feasibility and effectiveness in low-resource countries (the prime focus of the AMHR group's work) is unknown. For this reason, when working with implementing partners, the AMHR group is constantly refining methods for conducting impact assessments that are scientifically rigorous and valid. In recent years, AMHR members have strived to develop and implement methods for conducting accurate assessments and controlled studies across cultures that are within the capabilities and resources of local service providers.
Additionally, the faculty in the AMHR group are involved with several epidemiologic investigations of topics relevant to low resource countries, including HIV adherence, child sexual abuse and postpartum depression.
Faculty Research Projects Funding and Support Publications by AMHR Faculty Courses |
