Scaling up care for perinatal depression for improved maternal and infant health (SPECTRA): protocol of a hybrid implementation study of the impact of a cascade training of primary maternal care providers in Nigeria

Background: The large treatment gap for mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) necessitates task-sharing approaches in scaling up care for mental disorders. Previous work have shown that primary health care workers (PHCW) can be trained to recognize and respond to common mental disorders but there are lingering questions around sustainable implementation and scale-up in real world settings. Method: This project is a hybrid implementation-effectiveness study guided by the Replicating Effective Programmes Framework. It will be conducted in four overlapping phases in maternal care clinics (MCC) in 11 local government areas in and around Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. In Phase I, engagement meetings with relevant stake holders will be held. In phase II, the organizational and clinical profiles of MCC to deliver chronic depression care will be assessed, using interviews and a standardized assessment tool administered to staff and managers of the clinics. To ascertain the current level of care, 167 consecutive women presenting for antenatal care for the first time and who screened positive for depression will be recruited and followed up till 12 months post-partum. In phase III, we will design and implement a cascade training programme for PHCW, to equip them to identify and treat perinatal depression. In phase IV, a second cohort of 334 antenatal women will be recruited and followed up as in Phase I, to ascertain post-training level of care. The primary implementation outcome is change in the identification and treatment of perinatal depression by the PHCW while the primary effectiveness outcome is recovery from depression among the women at 6 months post-partum. A range of mixed-method approaches will be used to explore secondary implementation outcomes, including fidelity and acceptability. Secondary effectiveness outcomes are measures of disability and of infant outcomes. Discussion: This study represents an attempt to systematically assess and document an implementation strategy that could inform the scaling up of evidence based interventions for perinatal depression using the WHO mhGAP-IG in LMIC.