Capacity Building of “Accredited Social Health Activist” under Rural Health Training Center Regarding Mental Health: An Interventional Study

BACKGROUND: Mental health is one of the critical health requirements that society needs to address in the present century. Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) can play an important role in identifying mental health problems at the earliest and help in improving community health status. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mental health education program on knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of ASHAs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An intervention study was conducted to empower ASHAs for providing mental health services at a district located in Western India during 2016 and 2017. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to assess KAP regarding mental health in intervention and control groups before and post intervention. An educational program was imparted in two batches. Hybrid methods for imparting teaching/training were utilized. “Paired t-test” was applied to compare pre- and post-results in intervention group and “unpaired t-test” for baseline comparison. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant improvement in KAP of ASHAs after intervention. Majority of ASHAs referred cases of mental health problems to government tertiary care hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that it is possible to empower ASHAs with a short course related to mental health to achieve effective outcomes in terms of improved knowledge, attitudes, and practices.