PGIF Project: Harnessing the science of e-learning to increase access to mental health care in Brazil

In Brazil, the burden of common mental disorders is extremely high yet very few have access to treatments. Training primary care workers to identify and treat mental disorders is recognized by the WHO and Brazilian Ministry of Health as the most viable strategy to increase access to mental health treatment in Brazil. Interpersonal Counselling is a brief evidence-based intervention that can be delivered by community health workers in primary care. Although numerous training materials exist, most require a great deal of reading and a majority is available only in English. Transforming these materials into interactive digital content will not only dramatically increase access to more systematic training, but increase the accessibility of the content and the effectiveness of instruction. The overall purpose of this grant is to build a partnership between Columbia Global Centers - Rio de Janeiro and the Federal University of São Paulo to develop and pilot a multimedia e-learning platform to train community health workers to deliver Interpersonal Counseling in Brazil.