Measurement-Based Mental Health Care for Adolescents in Africa: Protocol for a Computerized Adaptive Test
Rattachement africain : Afrique du Sud, gb, Kenya, us, ch, au, ph. Niveau de preuve : code pays fourni par la source.
Le résumé fourni par la source
Abstract Background Adolescent mental health care is constrained not only by limited treatment capacity but also by the absence of precise and efficient tools to identify and triage those in need. Measurement-based mental health care relies on standardized assessments to guide identification, treatment selection, and ongoing monitoring of mental disorders. However, conventional assessments present a trade-off: diagnostic interviews lack feasibility at scale, while brief screening tools result in misclassification and suboptimal allocation of limited mental health resources. Computerized adaptive testing addresses this trade-off by dynamically tailoring assessments to individuals, maximizing measurement precision while minimizing assessment burden. Despite these advances, no adaptive assessment for adolescent mental health has been developed or calibrated using African data. Objective The AfriCAT study aims to develop and internally validate a precision computerized adaptive assessment of adolescent depression and anxiety using nationally representative Kenyan data, with the longer-term goal of supporting measurement-based mental health care across diverse African contexts. Methods AfriCAT is a mixed methods study integrating psychometric modeling, adaptive simulation, modular clinical decision support networks, participatory workshops, discrete choice experiments (DCEs), and stakeholder interviews. Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, version 5 ( DISC-5 ) modules assessing major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, and posttraumatic stress disorder among adolescents aged 10 to 17 years from the Kenya National Adolescent Mental Health Survey (N=5155) will form the item bank. Adaptive engines will be developed using a bifactor multidimensional item response theory framework and a modular neural architecture. Simulation-based internal validation will evaluate precision, efficiency, and diagnostic classification relative to DISC-5 diagnoses. Participatory workshops in Kenya and South Africa, DCEs to quantify adolescent preferences, and stakeholder interviews will inform refinement of adolescent- and provider-facing prototypes. Results Ethical approval has been obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee (Medical) at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Aga Khan University Institutional Scientific and Ethics Review Committee. Data preparation and model development are underway. Participatory workshops and DCEs are ongoing. Simulation-based validation and prototype refinement will follow. Conclusions AfriCAT aims to develop the first adaptive mental health assessment calibrated using nationally representative African adolescent data. By integrating precision psychometrics with participatory co-design, the study seeks to enable more accurate triage and support scalable, measurement-based adolescent mental health care in resource-constrained settings.
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Le contrôle bibliographique ouvert
DOI retrouvé dans Crossref DOI retrouvé ; titre concordant.
- Titre Crossref
- Measurement-Based Mental Health Care for Adolescents in Africa: Protocol for a Computerized Adaptive Test
- Date Crossref
- 08/09/2026
- Éditeur
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Type
- journal-article
Ce recoupement confirme des métadonnées liées au DOI. Il ne confirme ni la méthode ni les conclusions de l’étude, et il ne compte pas comme une seconde source scientifique indépendante.
Où se fait cette recherche
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University of the Witwatersrand University of the Witwatersrand, Afrique du Sud (code pays fourni par la source)Université ou école supérieure
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University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Aga Khan University Nairobi Brain and Mind Institute Aga Khan University Nairobi, Kenya (code pays fourni par la source)Université ou école supérieure
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Harvard Global Health Institute pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Laboratory for Intelligent Global Health and Humanitarian Response Technologies pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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The University of Queensland pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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University of Washington pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation pays non établi dans la noticeStructure de recherche
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Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research pays non établi dans la noticeStructure de recherche
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Africa Mental Health Foundation Kenya (code pays fourni par la source)Organisation à but non lucratif
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Western Cape Department of Health Western Cape Department of Health, Afrique du Sud (code pays fourni par la source)Organisme public
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Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University, Afrique du Sud (code pays fourni par la source)Université ou école supérieure
University of the Witwatersrand (University of the Witwatersrand, Afrique du Sud), Department of Psychiatry — University of Oxford et Brain and Mind Institute — Aga Khan University Nairobi (Aga Khan University Nairobi, Kenya), avec 9 autres affiliations. Pays d’affiliation : Afrique du Sud, Kenya.
Une affiliation ne permet pas de déduire la nationalité d’un auteur.