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IMPRESS

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IMPlementation of evidence-based facility and community interventions to reduce the treatment gap for depRESSion



The Aim of the Project:


The IMPRESS project, led by Dr. Abhijit Nadkarni (Sangath, Goa, India) and Dr. Vikram Patel seeks to seamlessly merge two groundbreaking, evidence-based interventions—HAP (Healthy Activity Program) and VISHRAM (Vidarbha Stress and Health Program)—to bolster both the reach and effectiveness of psychological interventions for depression.


The Background:


IMPRESS focuses on reducing the existing treatment gap for depression by addressing both supply and demand side barriers through the combination of two previously developed strategies by Sangath.

Addressing supply side barriers:

Scaling up the Healthy Activity Program (HAP), a manualized psychological treatment based on behavioral activation, which was shown to reduce symptom severity and increase remission among depressed participants in Sangath’s PREMIUM study.


Addressing demand side barriers: 

Expanding the VISHRAM program, a community-based mental health intervention, to boost the demand for mental health care through improved mental health literacy.


The Project Plan:


Structured in two distinct phases, IMPRESS embarks on an initial formative stage aimed at adapting and evaluating the HAP's delivery mechanisms. This involves: (a) healthcare facility staff and, (b) community stakeholders (including panch members, auxiliary nurses, midwives, and social work volunteers) to ensure the procedures' feasibility and acceptability prior to the main trial.

The subsequent trial phase is designed to assess the impact of these preliminary strategies, with a focus on enhancing the demand for and improving the outcomes of HAP when delivered by non-specialist health workers or counselors in primary care settings, with the introduction of the VISHRAM intervention.
 

Supporters and Project Duration:


This ambitious initiative is supported by the National Institute of Health, USA, with its timeline spanning from 2019 to 2025. Through IMPRESS, there's a concerted effort to refine and extend effective depression treatment modalities within and beyond the community level.