Twelve-month trajectories of depression after group-based psychotherapy led by nonspecialists at primary health centers: A case study from Vietnam

Introduction

Depression is a top prevalent mental illness but has low care access globally. Community-based interventions were considered to be effective for depression with scarce resources.

Purpose

This study evaluated depression after group psychotherapy in primary settings in Vietnam for up to 12 months.

Method

A quasiexperimental study including a single-arm, pre- and post intervention assessment was conducted among 359 people aged 18–65 (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10) from August 2020 to January 2022 in 10 communes of Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam. The PHQ-9 scores were collected at baseline and after 3, 6, and 12 months. The trained nonspecialists delivered 8 sessions of group therapy under supervision.

Result

Three hundred fifty-nine eligible people participated in the intervention, and three and two people dropped out after three months and six months, respectively. The mean PHQ-9 score decreased from 13.29 preintervention to 2.83 after 12 months. The difference in depression severity between the three points of follow-up was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Ninety percent of participants achieved reliable improvement, and 96% recovered at 12 months.

Conclusion

Community-based psychotherapy can be a promising approach to depression management in limited settings in the long term, which needs further study to evaluate its acceptance and feasibility in a specific context.