Pamoja Furaha: Integrating Group Interpersonal Therapy into maternal-child health services for perinatal adolescents in Kenya

Adolescent pregnancy rates remain high in Kenya, at approximately 20% of adolescents age 14-19. This group has disproportionately high risk of developing perinatal (pregnancy through first year after delivery) depression. We aim to develop and evaluate a perinatal depression treatment for adolescent girls age 14-19, integrated into maternal-child health services in Western Kenya. Our proposed intervention, Pamoja Furaha, includes (1) universal depression screening, (2) lay-delivered group interpersonal therapy, (3) measurement-based care, and (4) a bundle of implementation strategies to facilitate successful real-world implementation. Our team is comprised of Kenyan researchers in maternal-child health and mental health, a representative from Kenya’s national Ministry of Health, and experts in perinatal psychiatry, epidemiology and implementation science in the US. Foundation Phase: We will hold participatory workshops with national and county Ministries of Health, healthcare facility leadership, and lived experience experts, to formalize partnerships, agree on shared goals and priorities, and co-develop implementation strategies. Impact Phase: We will conduct an effectiveness-implementation hybrid cluster-randomized trial in 20 maternal-child health facilities in Homa Bay County. This low cost scalable package could extend across maternal-child health clinics throughout Kenya to improve mental health of adolescents and their infants.