GlobalMentalHealth@Harvard Weekly Newsletter

GMH@Harvard Initiative Weekly Newsletter

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In this issue:

Upcoming Mental Health Related Webinars
Mental Health Paper/Media Chase
Opportunities

March 9th 2021

Upcoming Mental Health Related Webinars

Behavioral Health - A Silent Epidemic Impacting Life, Health and Living in Ghana
Global Dinner Series hosted by The Global & Local Center for Mental Health Disparities at Boston Medical Center & BU School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital's Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital, and Boston College School of Social Work
Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 5:30pm-6:30pm ET

Speaker: Judith Palmer Castor - Behavioral Health Director, Family and Child Associates, Ghana. Director of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs, Aphios Corporation

Dr. Castor serves as the Behavioral Health Director for Family Child & Associates Health clinic in Ghana providing emotional skill building, leadership training, critical thinking skill development, behavioral management for at risk youth (behavioral solutions and interventions), parenting tools and classroom strategies in Accra, Ghana. She is the founder of “Beyond the Nets,” a nonprofit organization focused on providing education, treatment access, and resources to those who lives are adversely affected by malaria in West Africa. Previously at Boston Children’s hospital, Dr. Castor served as a Clinical Trials Project Manager and Co-PI for an Adolescent HIV/AIDS Trials Network, providing management and oversight to protocol implementation, as well as community mobilization, health promotion and communication of public health messages on HIV and adolescent development. As an adjunct clinical faculty instructor, she has taught at Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and U Mass Boston. A graduate of Santa Clara University and Brandeis University, she divides her time between Aphios Corporation in Woburn, MA where she is the Director of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs and Family Child & Associates in Ghana.

Stress, Disordered Eating and Mental Health
Hosted by the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health - Population Mental Health Forum Series
Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 11:00am ET
Disordered eating is common and can lead to a variety of negative mental health outcomes. This panel brings together experts in disordered eating with backgrounds in public health, medicine, mental health treatment, and advocacy for groups of disordered eating. The panel will discuss their experiences working with individuals with disordered eating, the public health impact of disordered eating, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disordered eating. The event will conclude with a Q&A session with the attendees.

Speakers:

S. Bryn Austin, ScD, is an award-winning researcher, teacher, and mentor. She is Professor in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital.
Johanna Kandel (She/Her) is the founder and CEO of The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness and the author of Life Beyond Your Eating Disorder.
Monika Ostroff, LICSW, CEDS-S, is a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist and Supervisor, nationally recognized for her 25+ years of experience and contributions to the field of eating disorders.
Lesley Williams, MD, a board certified family medicine physician and certified eating disorder specialist, is an advocate for diversity and inclusivity in healthcare.

Mental Health and Marginalised Communities – Migrant Populations
Hosted by United for Global Mental Health The Lancet Psychiatry, Mental Health Innovation Network, and MHPSS.net
Tuesday March 23 10am ET - 11am ET
On Tuesday 23 March, we'll hold the second part of our conversation and explore mental health and migrant populations. We will be joined by the head of mental health at the International Organization for Migration, as well as other established speakers, to discuss how to best support the mental health of migrant communities, and the different ways we can promote this in policies and practises. These webinars are designed to provide policymakers and the wider health community with the latest evidence on the most pressing and often neglected issues of mental health around the world, including the impact of COVID- 19 on mental health. The webinars provide practical solutions to the challenging issues we are all grappling with. Participants are encouraged to join from around the world, including those with lived experience of mental health, and of COVID-19

South to South Collaboration to Strengthen Child and Adolescent Mental Health in SSA: Lessons Learned from SMART Africa Center
Hosted by the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD), Washington University in St. Louis
April 20-21, 2021 at 11:00am ET
5th Annual Conference on Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa! This year’s capstone conference will bring together SMART Africa study teams and other researchers from the continent to discuss ongoing projects related to scaling up evidence-based child mental health interventions, sustaining high-quality mental health care in resource-limited settings, lessons learned, and informing policies and programs in partner countries.

Abstracts are welcome for submission by March 12, 2021. See call for abstracts for additional details.

Free Daily Live - Online Mindfulness Sessions

In light of COVID-19, our Center for Mindfulness and Compassion is offering free guided daily online practices. These practices are secular and open to all. Over 20 teachers are offering sessions in mindful movement; bringing kindness to our stress, anxiety, grief and fear; supporting care giving during this difficult time, and expressing appreciation and love for each other. We look forward to you joining us!
See the Schedule, as well as more specialized offerings, here.

Mental Health Paper/Media Chase

*bold indicates Harvard affiliation

Keshavan M. S. (2020). Building resilience in the COVID-19 era: Three paths in the Bhagavad Gita. Indian journal of psychiatry, 62(5), 459–461. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_829_20

Singla DR, Meltzer-Brody SE, Silver RK, Vigod SN, Kim JJ, La Porte LM, Ravitz P, Schiller CE, Schoueri-Mychasiw N, Hollon SD, Kiss A, Clark D, Dalfen AK, Dimidjian S, Gaynes BN, Katz SR, Lawson A, Leszcz M, Maunder RG, Mulsant BH, Murphy KE, Naslund JA, Reyes-Rodríguez ML, Stuebe AM, Dennis CL, Patel V. Scaling Up Maternal Mental healthcare by Increasing access to Treatment (SUMMIT) through non-specialist providers and telemedicine: a study protocol for a non-inferiority randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2021 Mar 5;22(1):186. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-021-05075-1

Remch M, Duncan DT, Geller A, Turpin R, Dyer T, Scheidell JD, Cleland CM, Kaufman JS, Brewer R, Hucks-Ortiz C, van der Mei W, Mayer KH, Khan MR. Police harassment and psychosocial vulnerability, distress, and depressive symptoms among black men who have sex with men in the U.S.: Longitudinal analysis of HPTN 061. SSM Popul Health. 2021 Feb 7;13:100753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100753

Haberer, J. E., Bukusi, E. A., Mugo, N. R., Pyra, M., Kiptinness, C., Oware, K., Garrison, L. E., Thomas, K. K., Musinguzi, N., Morrison, S., Anderson, P. L., Ngure, K., Baeten, J. M., & MPYA Study Team (2021). Effect of SMS reminders on PrEP adherence in young Kenyan women (MPYA study): a randomised controlled trial. The lancet. HIV, 8(3), e130–e137. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(20)30307-6

Haviland, M. J., Nillni, Y. I., Cabral, H. J., Fox, M. P., Wise, L. A., Burris, H. H., & Hacker, M. R. (2021). Adverse psychosocial factors in pregnancy and preterm delivery. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology, 10.1111/ppe.12756. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.12756

Opportunities

Jobs/Internships:

Research Associate, School of Social Work, Based in Sierra Leone
Project: “Long term stress and impairment in children and youth after an acute infectious disease outbreak: A longitudinal study of the social, familial and individual effects of Ebola viral disease (EVD)” (EVD Mental Health Study). Reporting to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Thomas M. Crea, the Research Associate will provide services to the research study entitled “Long term stress and impairment in children and youth after an acute infectious disease outbreak: A longitudinal study of the social, familial and individual effects of Ebola viral disease (EVD)”. The study design includes translation of all research documents from English to Sierra Leonean Krio, and qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis.

EMPOWER Project Research Assistant
The GlobalMentalHealth@Harvard EMPOWER workstream is recruiting a new Research Assistant to organize & facilitate focus group discussions with key stakeholders and community partners. The individual will be responsible for developing a theory of change map, developing a policy and leadership training program curriculum, and designing a peer learning leadership collaborative. Position will be available to apply in the system on March 9th. Proficiency in Spanish preferred. See above job description for more information. Read more information about the EMPOWER project here. We will also be recruiting Harvard graduate student and undergraduate student Research Assistants for this work if you are interested email Juliana Restivo with your CV.

Teaching Assistant: GHP 208 Case Studies in Global Mental Health Delivery
Apply to be a TA for this course taught by Vikram Patel, Shekhar Saxena and Bepi Raviola.
Eligibility: must be a current Harvard T.H. Chan student

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship - Stony Brook University, NY (remote work eligible)
Collaborate on multiple large-scale, NIH- and foundation-funded clinical trials testing single-session and digital interventions for youth depression and anxiety. The Postdoctoral Fellow will work under the direction of Dr. Jessica Schleider, Ph.D., Director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health, Department of Psychology (www.schleiderlab.org) which specializes in the development and evaluation of brief, scalable treatments for youth mental health problems.

Mental Health Specialist - McLean Hospital, Belmont MA

Case Manager, Addiction Treatment Services, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Danvers MA
Case Manager role is a great opportunity for an individual who wants to advocate for and serve individuals who struggle with addiction within a collaborative, established, patient-centered organization.

Behavioral Health Coordinator - Brigham & Women's Hospital , Boston MA
Brigham Health Primary Care’s population health program, Central Population Management, provides resources designed to support practice-based behavioral health services for our patients with mental health needs.

Research Program on Children and Adversity

For more details, please see the detailed descriptions at the links below or contact RPCA’s Administrative Manager, Tesla Abrego (abregot@bc.edu).

Research Scientist (Boston): Ph.D. or equivalent in Implementation Science, Psychology, Public Health, or related fields required; Expert knowledge of implementation science, intervention research, randomized controlled trials, cluster-randomized trials, and mixed methods preferred.

Research Associate (Rwanda): Ph.D. or equivalent in Implementation Science, Psychology, Social Work, or related fields required; advanced statistical and computational programming skills required; five-plus years of experience conducting research in low-to-middle-income countries required.

Postdoctoral Fellow (Boston): Ph.D. or equivalent required, experience with implementation science to include hybrid design, cluster randomized controlled trials, longitudinal studies. Experience conducting research in culturally diverse contexts, preferably with refugee or immigrant communities. To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter to abregot@bc.edu

Data Manager (Boston): Ph.D. in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Econometrics, Public Health, or other relevant fields preferred. Highly-qualified MA considered. Experience with mixed methods, data imputation, multilevel modeling, psychometric analysis, and item-response theory. To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter to abregot@bc.edu
Administrative Assistant (Boston): BA/BS degree in Public Health, Psychology, Political Science, International Studies, or related fields preferred. Experience with administration, operations, and communications. Seeking highly organized self-starter capable of working in a fast-paced environment. To apply, please send resume and cover letter to abregot@bc.edu.

Sangath, India (multiple positions available, see details at the link for the below positions):

Communications Manager: Location: Goa Headquarters (preferred); New Delhi location may also be considered.
Multiple roles for the project: Enhancing Mental Wellbeing In Ashramshala; Location: Maharashtra
Youth Coordinator; Location: New Delhi
Field Researcher; Location: Goa
Project Secretary; Location: Goa

Brain and Mind Institute - Aga Khan University (multiple positions available, see below. 3 year appointments in Pakistan or Kenya):

Participant Recruitment / Abstracts/ Submissions / Invitations / Funding Opportunities:

Harvard T.H. Chan Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness:
Inaugural summer short course, “Exploring the Linkages between Mental Well-Being and Physical Health Outcomes”

Special Issue: The Epidemiology of Mental Illness in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Cross-Cultural Measurement, Risk Factors and Outcomes
Guest Editors: Dr. Bizu Gelaye (Harvard University, USA) and Dr. Carlos Lopez-Jaramillo (Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia)
Although there is considerable research using anthropologic methods and qualitative studies to understand cultural manifestations of mental illness in cross-cultural settings, there is limited research in the use of modern psychometric methods to understand the utility of mental health screening instruments particularly in populations of low- and middle income countries (LAMICs). Having well-characterized screening instruments will help research and clinical care communities to choose appropriate measures to evaluate existing mental health interventions or guide the development of new intervention. Another area of limited research in the LAMICs is the integration of biomarkers, genetics, and imaging tests into population-based studies of mental health disorders. These studies are likely to help us understand the biological underpinnings of mental health outcomes. Notably, these efforts are likely to lead to improved assessment and treatment of mental disorders.
This special issue will include papers that assess cross-culturally validity of instruments from LAMICS, epidemiology of mental health outcomes across the life course, and showcase ongoing innovative research in the LAMICs particularly from sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

Harvard T.H. Chan Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness:
2021 Innovations in Positive Health Seed Grant Funding: Awards will be granted for amounts between $5,000 and $20,000. Funding can be used to cover research-related expenses, such as: supporting a research assistant, access to existing data, data collection activities, conference presentations, and travel (with prior approval). Applications for 2021 grant funding are due on April 16, 2021. This is a competitive grant program. It is open to all Harvard University faculty, research scientists, and post-doctoral research scholars. Hospital-affiliated Harvard faculty should reach out to the Center to confirm eligibility. Students are not eligible to apply for these funds. If you are unsure about your eligibility, please contact Jaime Mchunu.

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Do you have something to share with the Global Mental Health community? Send an email to Juliana_restivo@hms.harvard.edu and we will consider your submission for our next weekly newsletter.

GlobalMentalHealth@Harvard is a cross-Harvard Initiative aspiring to elevate the profile of mental health as a global public good and a universal human right.

Views and opinions expressed in the newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of Harvard University. Any postings, including jobs, events, news articles and others, are meant for informational purposes only and do not represent endorsement by GMH@Harvard or any Harvard affiliated Schools or Hospitals. Projects and events sponsored specifically by the GMH@Harvard Initiative are always indicated as so.

The newsletter is compiled by Juliana Lynn Restivo MPH, Program Coordinator for the GlobalMentalHealth@Harvard Initiative. Follow us on Twitter at @GMHatHarvard