Primary‐level and community worker interventions for the prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of well‐being in low‐ and middle‐income countries

Background There is a significant research gap in the field of universal, selective, and indicated prevention interventions for mental health promotion and the prevention of mental disorders. Barriers to closing the research gap include scarcity of skilled human resources, large inequities in resource distribution and utilization, and stigma. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of delivery by primary workers of interventions for the promotion of mental health and universal prevention, and for the selective and indicated prevention of mental disorders or symptoms of mental illness in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). To examine the impact of intervention delivery by primary workers on resource use and costs. Search methods We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Global Index Medicus, PsycInfo, WHO ICTRP, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to 29 November 2021. Selection criteria Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of primary‐level and/or community health worker interventions for promoting mental health and/or preventing mental disorders versus any control conditions in adults and children in LMICs Data collection and analysis Standardized mean differences (SMD) or mean differences (MD) were used for continuous outcomes, and risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous data, using a random‐effects model. We analyzed data at 0 to 1, 1 to 6, and 7 to 24 months post‐intervention. For SMDs, 0.20 to 0.49 represented small, 0.50 to 0.79 moderate, and