Implementation outcomes of the waves for change community-based task-shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in South Africa
Adolescents face increased vulnerability to mental health conditions, particularly when exposed to multidimensional poverty and trauma and pronounced treatment gaps. Waves for Change, a Sport for Development (SfD) intervention, employs task-sharing through its ‘5-Pillar Method’ to build resilience a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2054425125100332/type/journal_article |
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| author | Thandi Davies Jamie Marshall Nicola van der Merwe Paula Yarrow Tim Conibear Crick Lund |
| author_facet | Thandi Davies Jamie Marshall Nicola van der Merwe Paula Yarrow Tim Conibear Crick Lund |
| author_sort | Thandi Davies |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Adolescents face increased vulnerability to mental health conditions, particularly when exposed to multidimensional poverty and trauma and pronounced treatment gaps. Waves for Change, a Sport for Development (SfD) intervention, employs task-sharing through its ‘5-Pillar Method’ to build resilience and prevent mental health conditions among at-risk adolescents in South Africa. This study assessed the implementation outcomes of this Method using a mixed-methods design, incorporating interviews, focus groups, self-report questionnaires, document reviews and routine site assessments, with 69 stakeholders including staff, peer coaches, mental healthcare providers, social workers, teachers, and adolescents. A thematic analysis revealed key facilitators to successful implementation, including: a year-long preventative approach, creation of safe spaces for learning self-regulation skills, employment of youth coaches from local communities, incorporation of fun, group-based physical activities, modelling and repetition of desired skills, provision of transport and meals, government partnerships, and consistent weekly training and supervision. Implementation challenges included coach capacity, due to their education levels and own trauma experiences, measurement of fidelity to the Method and of adolescents’ emotional experiences, and some concerns around ocean safety. These findings provide valuable insights for implementing community-based SfD interventions for adolescents facing adversity, and contributes towards global evidence supporting task-shared mental health approaches in LMICs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-22c0955b19e94d7a8d41b9069d41c3e7 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2054-4251 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-22c0955b19e94d7a8d41b9069d41c3e72025-07-21T09:16:06ZengCambridge University PressCambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health2054-42512025-01-011210.1017/gmh.2025.10033Implementation outcomes of the waves for change community-based task-shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in South AfricaThandi Davies0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9626-0816Jamie Marshall1Nicola van der Merwe2Paula Yarrow3Tim Conibear4Crick Lund5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5159-8220Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, https://ror.org/03p74gp79 University of Cape Town Cape Town, South AfricaSchool of Applied Sciences, https://ror.org/03zjvnn91 Edinburgh Napier University , Edinburgh, UKWaves for Change, Cape Town, South AfricaWaves for Change, Cape Town, South AfricaWaves for Change, Cape Town, South AfricaAlan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, https://ror.org/03p74gp79 University of Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa Centre for Global Mental Health, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UKAdolescents face increased vulnerability to mental health conditions, particularly when exposed to multidimensional poverty and trauma and pronounced treatment gaps. Waves for Change, a Sport for Development (SfD) intervention, employs task-sharing through its ‘5-Pillar Method’ to build resilience and prevent mental health conditions among at-risk adolescents in South Africa. This study assessed the implementation outcomes of this Method using a mixed-methods design, incorporating interviews, focus groups, self-report questionnaires, document reviews and routine site assessments, with 69 stakeholders including staff, peer coaches, mental healthcare providers, social workers, teachers, and adolescents. A thematic analysis revealed key facilitators to successful implementation, including: a year-long preventative approach, creation of safe spaces for learning self-regulation skills, employment of youth coaches from local communities, incorporation of fun, group-based physical activities, modelling and repetition of desired skills, provision of transport and meals, government partnerships, and consistent weekly training and supervision. Implementation challenges included coach capacity, due to their education levels and own trauma experiences, measurement of fidelity to the Method and of adolescents’ emotional experiences, and some concerns around ocean safety. These findings provide valuable insights for implementing community-based SfD interventions for adolescents facing adversity, and contributes towards global evidence supporting task-shared mental health approaches in LMICs.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2054425125100332/type/journal_articlemental healthcommunity-based initiativesglobal mental healthgroup interventionslow income countries |
| spellingShingle | Thandi Davies Jamie Marshall Nicola van der Merwe Paula Yarrow Tim Conibear Crick Lund Implementation outcomes of the waves for change community-based task-shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in South Africa Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health mental health community-based initiatives global mental health group interventions low income countries |
| title | Implementation outcomes of the waves for change community-based task-shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in South Africa |
| title_full | Implementation outcomes of the waves for change community-based task-shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Implementation outcomes of the waves for change community-based task-shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Implementation outcomes of the waves for change community-based task-shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in South Africa |
| title_short | Implementation outcomes of the waves for change community-based task-shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in South Africa |
| title_sort | implementation outcomes of the waves for change community based task shared prevention intervention for adolescent mental health in south africa |
| topic | mental health community-based initiatives global mental health group interventions low income countries |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2054425125100332/type/journal_article |
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