SMART Africa Center Publications

SMART Africa – Study Publications

Tozan, Y., Capasso, A., Namatovu, P., Kiyingi, J., Damulira, C., Nabayinda, J., Bahar, O. S., McKay, M. M., Hoagwood, K., & Ssewamala, F. M. (2022). Costing of a multiple family group strengthening intervention (Smart-Africa) to improve child and Adolescent Behavioral Health in Uganda. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.21-0895

Asampong, E., Ibrahim, A., Sensoy Bahar, O., Kumbelim, K., Yaro, P. B., McKay, M. M., & Ssewamala, F. M. (2021). Adaptation and implementation of the multiple-family group intervention in Ghana. Psychiatric Service. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900626

Brathwaite, R., Ssewamala, F. M., Sensoy Bahar, O., McKay, M. M.,…& SMART Africa –Uganda Field Team (2021, online first). The longitudinal impact of an evidence-based multiple family group intervention (Amaka Amasanyufu) on Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Impaired functioning among children in Uganda: analysis of a cluster randomized trial from the SMART Africa-Uganda scale-up study (2016- 2022). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 

Naslund, J. A., Kalha, J., Restivo, J. L., Amarreh, I.,…Sensoy Bahar, O., Shields-Zeeman, L., Ssewamala, F. M.,…Pathare, S. (2021). Identifying challenges and recommendations for advancing global mental health implementation research: A key informant study of the National Institute of Mental Health Scale-Up Hubs. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102557

Sssewamala, F. M., Sensoy Bahar, O., & McKay, M. (Eds.) (2021). Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards Evidence Generation and Policy Development. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.  

McKay, M. M., Sensoy Bahar, O., & Ssewamala, F. M. (2020). Implementation science in global health settings: Collaborating with governmental & community partners in Uganda. Psychiatry Research, 283, 112585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112585

Rahman, A., Naslund, J. A., Betancourt, T. S.,…Byansi, W.,…Sensoy Bahar, O.,…Ssewamala, F. M., & Wainberg, M. L. (2020). COVID 19 and the impending mental health crisis: What can the NIMH global mental health research community offer? The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(10), 834-836. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30347-3

Sensoy Bahar, O., Byansi, W., Kivumbi, A., Namatovu, P., Kiyingi, J., Ssewamala, F. M., McKay, M., & Nyoni, T. (2020). From “4Rs and 2Ss” to “Amaka Amasanyufu” (Happy Families): Adapting a U.S.-based evidence-based intervention to the Uganda context. Family Process, 59(4), 1928-1945. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=32027763

Sensoy Bahar, O., Cavazos-Rehg, P., Ssewamala, F. M., Abente, B., Peer, L., Nabunya, P., Soto de Laurido, L. E., Betancourt, T. S., Bhana, A., & Edmond, T. (2021). Training LEADers to Accelerate Global Mental Health Disparities Research (LEAD) Program: A Research Training Program Protocol. Frontiers in public health9, 749627. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.749627

Kivumbi, A., Byansi, W.,Damulira, D., Namatovu, P., Mugisha, J., Sensoy Bahar, O., McKay, M.M., Hoagwood, K., & Ssewamala, F.M. (2019). Prevalence of behavioral disorders and attention deficit hyperactive disorder among school going children in Southwestern Uganda. BMC Psychiatry, 19(105). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2069-8

Global Social Welfare: Research, Policy, & Practice. Special Issue on Equity, Collaboration, and Empowerment in Mental Health Research Partnerships, September 2019, Volume 6, Issue 3
Issue editors:  Manasi Kumar, PhD & Ozge Sensoy Bahar, PhD

Kumar, M., & Sensoy Bahar, O. (2019). Introduction to the issue on equity, collaboration, and empowerment in mental health research partnerships. Global Social Welfare: Research, Policy, & Practice, 6(3), 141-144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-019-00159-y

Ssewamala, F. M., Sensoy Bahar, O., McKay, M. M., Hoagwood, K., Huang, K. Y., & Pringle, B. (2018). Strengthening mental health and research training in Sub-Saharan Africa (SMART Africa): Uganda study protocol. BMC Trials, 19(1), 423.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2751-z

SMART Africa – Affiliate Publications

Bhana, A., Mntambo, N., Gigaba, S. G., Luvuno, Z. P. B., Grant, M., Ackerman, D., … & Petersen, I. (2019). Validation of a brief mental health screening tool for common mental disorders in primary healthcare. SAMJ: South African Medical Journal, 109(4), 278-283. https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2019.v109i4.13664

Breuer, E., Hanlon, C., Bhana, A., Chisholm, D., De Silva, M., Fekadu, A., … & Lund, C. (2019). Partnerships in a global mental health research Programme—the example of prime. Global Social Welfare, 6(3), 159-175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-018-0128-6

Govender, K., Bhana, A., McMurray, K., Kelly, J., Theron, L., Meyer-Weitz, A., … & Tomlinson, M. (2019). A systematic review of the South African work on the well-being of young people (2000–2016). South African Journal of Psychology, 49(1), 52-69. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246318757932

Hailemariam, M., Bustos, T., Montgomery, B., Barajas, R., Evans, L. B., & Drahota, A. (2019). Evidence-based intervention sustainability strategies: a systematic review. Implementation Science, 14(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-019-0910-6

Hailemariam, M., Fekadu, A., Medhin, G., Prince, M., & Hanlon, C. (2019). Equitable access to mental healthcare integrated in primary care for people with severe mental disorders in rural Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 13(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-019-0332-5

Hailemariam, M., Ghebrehiwet, S., Baul, T., Restivo, J. L., Shibre, T., Henderson, D. C., … & Borba, C. P. (2019). “He can send her to her parents”: The interaction between marriageability, gender and serious mental illness in rural Ethiopia. BMC Psychiatry, 19(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2290-5

Huang, K. Y., Lee, D., Nakigudde, J., Cheng, S., Gouley, K. K., Mann, D., … & Mendelsohn, A. (2019). Use of technology to promote child behavioral health in the context of pediatric care: a scoping review and applications to low-and middle-income countries. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, 806. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00806

Kemp, C. G., Petersen, I., Bhana, A., & Rao, D. (2019). Supervision of task-shared mental health care in low-resource settings: a commentary on programmatic experience. Global Health: Science and Practice, 7(2), 150-159. https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-18-00337

Nabunya, P., Padgett, D., Ssewamala, F. M., Courtney, M. E., & Neilands, T. (2019). Examining the nonkin support networks of orphaned adolescents participating in a family‐based economic‐strengthening intervention in Uganda. Journal of Community Psychology, 47(3), 579-593. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22139

Palinkas, L. A. (2019). Commentary: equity and Exchange in Global Research-Practice Partnerships. Global Social Welfare, 6(3), 209-213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-018-0118-8

Selohilwe, O., Bhana, A., Garman, E. C., & Petersen, I. (2019). Evaluating the role of levels of exposure to a task shared depression counselling intervention led by behavioural health counsellors: outcome and process evaluation. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 13(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-019-0299-2

Small, L. A., Parchment, T. M., Bahar, O. S., Osuji, H. L., Chomanczuk, A. H., & Bhana, A. (2019). South African adult caregivers as “protective shields”: Serving as a buffer between stressful neighborhood conditions and youth risk behaviors. Journal of Community Psychology, 47(8), 1850-1864. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22235

Bermudez, L. G., Ssewamala, F. M., Neilands, T. B., Lu, L., Jennings, L., Nakigozi, G., … Mukasa, M. (2018). Does economic strengthening improve viral suppression among adolescents living with HIV? Results from a cluster randomized trial in Uganda. AIDS and Behavior, 22(11), 3763-3772. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-2173-7

Huang, K. Y., Bornheimer, L. A., Dankyi, E., & de-Graft Aikins, A. (2018). Parental wellbeing, parenting and child development in Ghanaian families with young children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 49(5), 833–841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0799-3

Huang, K. Y., Kwon, S. C., Cheng, S., Kamboukos, D., Shelley, D., Brotman, L. M., Kaplan, S. A., Olugbenga, O., & Hoagwood, K. (2018). Unpacking partnership, engagement, and collaboration research to inform implementation strategies development: Theoretical frameworks and emerging methodologies. Frontiers in Public Health, 6, 190. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00190

Kumar, M., Amugune, B., Madeghe, B., Wambua, G. N., Osok, J., Polkonikova-Wamoto, A., Bukusi, D., Were, F., & Huang, K. Y. (2018). Mechanisms associated with maternal adverse childhood experiences on offspring’s mental health in Nairobi informal settlements: A mediational model testing approach. BMC Psychiatry, 18(1), 381. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1953-y

Kumar, M., Huang, K. Y., Othieno, C., Wamalwa, D., Madeghe, B., Osok, J., … & McKay, M. M. (2018). Adolescent pregnancy and challenges in Kenyan context: perspectives from multiple community stakeholders. Global Social Welfare, 5(1), 11-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-017-0102-8

Mutavi, T., Obondo, A., Mathai, M., Kokonya, D., & Dako-Gyeke, M. (2018). Incidence of self-esteem among children exposed to sexual abuse in Kenya. Global Social Welfare, 5(1), 39-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-017-0107-3

Nestadt, D. F., Lakhonpon, S., Pardo, G., Saisaengjan, C., Gopalan, P., Bunupuradah, T., McKay, M. M., Ananworanich, J., & Mellins, C. A. (2018). A qualitative exploration of psychosocial challenges of perinatally HIV-infected adolescents and families in Bangkok, Thailand. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 13(2), 158–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2017.1356947

Osok, J., Kigamwa, P., Huang, K. Y., Grote, N., & Kumar, M. (2018). Adversities and mental health needs of pregnant adolescents in Kenya: Identifying interpersonal, practical, and cultural barriers to care. BMC Women’s Health, 18(1), 96. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-018-0581-5

Osok, J., Kigamwa, P., Stoep, A. V., Huang, K. Y., & Kumar, M. (2018). Depression and its psychosocial risk factors in pregnant Kenyan adolescents: A cross-sectional study in a community health Centre of Nairobi. BMC Psychiatry, 18(1), 136. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1706-y

Osuji, H. L., Nabunya, P., Byansi, W., Parchment, T. M., Ssewamala, F., McKay, M. M., & Huang, K. Y. (2018). Social support and school outcomes of adolescents orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS living in South Western Uganda. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 13(3), 228–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2018.1439211

Ssewamala, F. M., Bermudez, L. G., & Santelli, J. (2018). The power of financial inclusion: Reporting on the efficacy of economic strengthening interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 62(1S), S3–S5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.11.001

Ssewamala, F. M., Wang, J. S., Neilands, T. B., Bermudez, L. G., Garfinkel, I., Waldfogel, J., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Kirkbride, G. (2018). Cost-effectiveness of a savings-led economic empowerment intervention for AIDS-affected adolescents in Uganda: Implications for scale-up in low-resource communities. The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 62(1S), S29–S36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.09.026

Wang, J. S., Ssewamala, F. M., Neilands, T. B., Bermudez, L. G., Garfinkel, I., Waldfogel, J., Brooks-Gunn, J., & You, J. (2018). Effects of financial incentives on saving outcomes and material well-being: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Uganda. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management: The Journal of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, 37(3), 602–629. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22065

Bermudez, L. G., Grilo, S. A., Santelli, J. S., & Ssewamala, F. M. (2017). Informing health choices in low-resource settings. The Lancet, 390(10092), 336-338. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(01)31290-4

Huang, K. Y., Abura, G., Theise, R., & Nakigudde, J. (2017). Parental depression and associations with parenting and children’s physical and mental health in a sub-Saharan African setting. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 48(4), 517-527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-016-0679-7

Mutavi, T., Mathai, M., & Obondo, A. (2017). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in sexually abused children and educational status in Kenya: a longitudinal study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior, 5(5). https://doi.org/10.4172/2375-4494.1000357

Pardo, G., Saisaengjan, C., Gopalan, P., Ananworanich, J., Lakhonpon, S., Nestadt, D. F., … & McKay, M. M. (2017). Cultural adaptation of an evidence-informed psychosocial intervention to address the needs of PHIV+ Youth in Thailand. Global Social Welfare, 4(4), 209-218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-017-0100-x

Bermudez, L. G., Jennings, L., Ssewamala, F. M., Nabunya, P., Mellins, C., & McKay, M. (2016). Equity in adherence to antiretroviral therapy among economically vulnerable adolescents living with HIV in Uganda. AIDS Care, 28(sup2), 83-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2016.1176681

Hailemariam, M., Fekadu, A., Selamu, M., Medhin, G., Prince, M., & Hanlon, C. (2016). Equitable access to integrated primary mental healthcare for people with severe mental disorders in Ethiopia: a formative study. International Journal for Equity in Health15(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0410-0

Mutavi, T., Mathai, M., Kumar, M., Nganga, P., & Obondo, A. (2016). Psychosocial outcomes among children following defilement and the caregivers responses to the children’s trauma: a qualitative study from Nairobi Suburbs, Kenya. African Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5(1), 38.

Nakigudde, J., Bauta, B., Wolf, S., & Huang, K. Y. (2016). Screening Child Social-emotional and Behavioral Functioning in Low-Income African Country Contexts. Jacobs Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, 2(2).

Parchment, T. M., Small, L., Osuji, H., McKay, M., & Bhana, A. (2016). Familial and contextual influences on children’s prosocial behavior: South African caregivers as adult protective shields in enhancing child mental health. Global Social Welfare, 3(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-016-0042-8

Polkovnikova-Wamoto, A., Mathai, M., Vander Stoep, A., & Kumar, M. (2016). ‘Haven of safety’and ‘secure base’: a qualitative inquiry into factors affecting child attachment security in Nairobi, Kenya. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 11(4), 286-296. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2016.1201237

Ssewamala, F. M., Karimli, L., Torsten, N., Wang, J. S. H., Han, C. K., Ilic, V., & Nabunya, P. (2016). Applying a family-level economic strengthening intervention to improve education and health-related outcomes of school-going AIDS-orphaned children: lessons from a randomized experiment in Southern Uganda. Prevention Science, 17(1), 134-143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-016-0042-8

Timol, F., Vawda, M. Y., Bhana, A., Moolman, B., Makoae, M., & Swartz, S. (2016). Addressing adolescents’ risk and protective factors related to risky behaviours: Findings from a school-based peer-education evaluation in the Western Cape. SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS, 13(1), 197-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/17290376.2016.1241188