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Table 1 Characteristics of included studies and interventions

From: Can mental health treatments help prevent or reduce intimate partner violence in low- and middle-income countries? A systematic review

Authors, year

Country

Design

Population

Sample size

Intervention

Format

Facilitators

Study arms

Dedicated mental health interventions

 Jiang et al., 2014 [39]

China

RCT

Adult men and women referred from mental health clinics or a community sample from a local high school affected by 2008 Sichuan earthquake with diagnosis of PTSD or major depressive disorder

49

Locally adapted version of interpersonal therapy (IPT). Treatment as usual (TAU): weekly medication management for any participant taking SSRI, SNRI or benzodiazepine; access to crisis counseling services

12 1-h weekly sessions delivered individually

Majority psychologist/ psychiatrist

(1) IPT and TAU; (2) TAU

 L’Engle et al. 2014: [43] Parcesepe et al., 2016 [44]

Kenya

RCT

Adult female sex workers attending drop in centers identified as moderate-risk drinkers (harmful or hazardous use)

818 (565 contributed to analysis)

Adaptation of WHO Brief Intervention for Alcohol Use, informed by stages of change and social cognitive theory, including motivational interviewing and goal setting. Nutrition control condition, 6 sessions of comparable length.

6 20-min counseling sessions delivered to individuals monthly

Nurses

(1) Alcohol counseling; (2) Nutrition intervention of comparable time also delivered by nurses

 Nadkarni et al. 2017a [47] and Nadkarni et al. 2017b [48]

India

RCT

Adult men who screened positive as harmful drinkers at primary health care centers

377 (301 contributed to analysis)

Counseling for alcohol problems (CAP), a manualized psychotherapy that includes teaching general and alcohol-specific cognitive and behavioral skills and problem solving with counsellor use of motivational interviewing and client-centered approach

Enhanced usual care (EUC) following adapted mhGAP guidelines in which the patient and primary health care provider received alcohol screening results and referrals to specialists as necessary

Up to 4 30–45 min sessions delivered over 4–8 weeks to individuals in primary care or home as necessary

Lay counsellors with at least secondary school education

(1) CAP and EUC; (2) EUC alone

 Patel et al., 2017 [45] and Weobong et al. 2017 [46]

India

RCT

Adult men and women who screened as experiencing moderately severe to severe depression at primary health care centers

495 (377 married men and women contributed to analysis)

Health Activity Program (HAP), a manualized psychotherapy based on behavioral activation. Enhanced usual care (EUC) following adapted mhGAP guidelines in which the patient and primary health care provider received screening results and made referrals to psychiatric care as necessary

6–8 30–50 min sessions delivered weekly to individuals in primary care, home, or telephone as necessary

Lay counsellors with at least secondary school education

(1) HAP and EUC; (2) EUC alone

Integrated interventions

 Carlson et al., 2012; [40] Witte et al., 2011 [41]

Mongolia

Cluster RCT

Adult female sex workers participating in NGO services who reported unprotected sex and screened positive for harmful alcohol use

166 (74 contributed to analysis)

HIV-STI Risk Reduction (HIV-SRR), a relationship-oriented and social cognitive theory-informed intervention including activities specific to protecting oneself from violence, enhanced with motivational interviewing (MI)

HIV-SRR: 4 90-min weekly sessions; MI2 weekly 90-min sessions; control: 4 weekly sessions, delivered to groups of 6–8 women

Females fluent in Mongol

(1) HIV-SSR; (2) HIV-SSR + MI

(3) Control (wellness promotion training)

 Jewkes et al., 2014 [38]

South Africa

Pre-post, interrupted time series

Community sample of adult men and women living in informal settlements characterized by extreme poverty; over 70% reported moderate or severe depression at baseline

232 (110 men, 122 women)

Creating Futures: a livelihood intervention aimed at strengthening use of resources in individuals’ environments, and Stepping Stones: a participatory learning intervention focused on preventing HIV transmission and fostering more equitable gender norms and inter-partner communication.

21 3-h sessions delivered 2x per week for 12 weeks to single sex groups of 20 individuals

Individuals of similar age to participants who completed secondary school

No control condition

 Wechsberg et al., 2013 [42]

South Africa

RCT

Community sample of women living in disadvantaged areas who report using at least two drugs (one of which could be alcohol) once a week over the past 3-months

720 (688 contributed to analysis)

Women’s Health CoOp: an adapted women focused, empowerment-based HIV prevention intervention that also focuses on substance use and violence through use of role-playing, skill rehearsal, developing a risk-reduction plan, and provision of referrals. HIV counseling and testing (HCT).

2 1-h sessions delivered to groups of 4–6 women

Peer female educators

(1) WCH + HCT; (2) Nutrition + HCT; (3) HCT alone