SMART Africa-Uganda

Principal Investigator: Mary McKay, PhD; Fred M. Ssewamala, PhD

Study Team: Ozge Sensoy Bahar, PhD; Apollo Kivumbi, MBChB, MPH

Field Coordinators: Joshua Kiyingi, MSTAT; Josephine Nabayinda, MSC; Phionah Namatovu

Research Collaborators: Abel Mwebembezi, PhD (Reach the Youth-Uganda); Fr. Kato Bakulu of Masaka Diocese

SMART Africa-Uganda is part of the SMART (Strengthening Mental health and Research Training) Africa Center, a 5-year multi-country longitudinal study (2016-2021) funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). SMART Africa is a global transdisciplinary center focused on reducing child mental health service and research gaps in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. SMART Africa-Uganda is a major scale-up study that examines the impact and implementation of an evidence-based multiple family group intervention for children experiencing behavioral problems and their families in Uganda. ICHAD research team is co-leading this scale-up study with 3,000 children (ages 8 to 13) and their families across 30 schools in the Greater Masaka region of Uganda.

SMART Africa-Uganda Publications

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. Psychiatry Online.

Naslund, J. A., Kalha, J., Restivo, J. L., Amarreh, I.,…Sensoy Bahar, O., Shields-Zeeman, L., Ssewamala, F. M.,…Pathare, S. (In Press). 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.

McKay, M. M., Bahar, O. S., & Ssewamala, F. M. (2020). Implementation Science in Global Health Settings: Collaborating with Governmental & Community Partners in Uganda. Psychiatry Research, 283. Science Direct

Rahman, A., Naslund, J. A., Betancourt, T. S.,…Byansi, W.,…Sensoy Bahar, O.,…Ssewamala, F. M., & Wainberg, M. L. (2020). The NIMH global mental health research community and COVID-19. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(10), 834-836. ScienceDirect

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. PubMed

Kivumbi, A., Byansi, W., Damulira, C., Namatovu, P., Mugisha, J., Sensoy Bahar, O., McKay, 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). PubMed

Ssewamala, F. M., Sensoy Bahar, O., McKay, M., Huang, K. Y., Hoagwood, K., & Pringle, B. (2018). Strengthening mental health and research training in Sub-Saharan Africa (SMART Africa): Uganda study protocol. BMC Trials, 19, 423. Biomed Central