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Transforming the understanding
and treatment of mental illnesses.

Youth Functioning and Organizational Success for West African Regional Development (Youth FORWARD)

Youth Functioning and Organizational Success for West African Regional Development (Youth FORWARD)

Leadership

Contact Principal Investigator: Theresa Betancourt, Sc.D., M.A.

Hub Activity Sites 

Sierra Leone
Liberia
United States

Project Overview

Youth Functioning and Organizational Success for West African Regional Development  (Youth FORWARD) is a mental health services research/implementation science initiative involving local governments, non-governmental organizations, the World Bank, and academic institutions. Its dual focus is the science of scaling up mental health care for high-risk youth in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and the expansion of local capacity to conduct and use further research. An implementation study is taking place in Sierra Leone. Capacity-building activities are occurring in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Implementation Research Study

The implementation study is designed to assess the integration of a transdiagnostic mental health intervention based on common practice elements derived from both cognitive-behavioral therapy and group interpersonal therapy—called the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI)—into the Youth Employment Scheme, a national youth employment program funded by the Government of Sierra Leone with support from the World Bank. The YRI comprises six evidence-based common practice elements used in trauma-informed care for youth exposed to violence and loss (psychoeducation, emotion regulation/relaxation skills, cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, building interpersonal skills, and problem solving).  The study compares two approaches for implementing YRI:  an Interagency Collaborative Team approach versus a conventional training and supervision strategy. The two approaches are compared in terms of costs and impact on fidelity and sustained delivery.

Research Capacity Building

The capacity-building component delivers training and technical assistance to increase the regional knowledge base and capacity for implementation research in mental health; increase the use of evidence in developing mental health policies and programs; increase the use of rigorous evaluation methods to measure program effectiveness; and accelerate efforts to scale up evidence-based mental health programs that will close the mental health treatment gap.