Urban youth in Kampala, Uganda face significant mental health challenges, including high rates of suicide ideation and attempts. Current prevention strategies are insufficient. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted among 400 urban youth aged 15-24 in Kampala. Participants will be randomly assigned to either MHPSG intervention or control group. Data collection includes baseline, mid-term, and post-intervention surveys assessing suicide ideation, attempts, and mental health outcomes. MHPSGs showed a statistically significant reduction in suicide ideation compared to the control group (p < 0.05), with an estimated effect size of d = 0.67. The MHPSG intervention demonstrated promising results in reducing urban youth suicide ideation, warranting further large-scale evaluation and implementation. Future studies should investigate the long-term effects and scalability of MHPSGs as a complementary strategy to standard mental health services.
Kirabo et al. (Mon,) studied this question.