Protocol for integrating mental health services into primary healthcare facilities: a qualitative study of the perspectives of patients, family members and healthcare providers in rural Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION: In Bangladesh, Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 67% of all deaths. Mental health services are not available in routine healthcare at the primary facilities in Bangladesh. The protocol is for a qualitative study that seeks to understand the perceptions, beliefs and norms regarding common mental disorders (CMDs) among patients with NCD with and without CMDs to identify barriers to accessing mental health services in rural communities in Bangladesh. We also aim to explore the feasibility of integrating mental healthcare into routine NCD services at primary health facilities in rural Bangladesh. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study will be conducted at the outpatient departments in two subdistrict hospitals and one district hospital in Munshiganj district in Bangladesh. We will purposefully select patients with hypertension and diabetes from the patient inventory generated from a recently completed randomised control trial titled ‘Control of Blood Pressure and Risk Attenuation Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka’ in two subdistricts in Munshiganj district in Bangladesh. The selected participants will be screened for CMD using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 Items (DASS-21) over the telephone. Sixty in-depth interviews with patients and family members, 8–10 key informant interviews with healthcare providers and 2 focus group discussions with community health workers will be held following consent. The study is conceptualised under Levesque et al’s framework. Thematic analysis will be applied following the study objectives and key issues, and commonly emerging topics generated by the data. The findings will be presented anonymously to corroborate the interpretation. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Approval has been obtained from the Institutional Review Board at icddr, b (PR-19108) and the University of York (HSRGC/2020/382/F). Written informed consent or audio recording consent form in Bangla will be obtained. For dissemination, we will invite representatives of the collaborating institutions to share the findings in national or international conferences and peer-reviewed journals.