Improving Mental Health among Caregivers of Young Child in China: Intervention Development
Lia Fernald, Professor
Public Health
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2024 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2025.
Over 250 million children under five years in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have been estimated to be at risk of poor development, accounting for 43% of young children living in those countries (Lu et al., 2016). There are many reasons that children are at risk for poor development, including poor prenatal care, undernutrition, and reduced parental engagement (Black et al., 2017). Maternal mental health problems are a key factor contributing to reduced engagement in stimulating parenting practices, leading to cognitive, language, and social-emotional delays during early childhood (Yue et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2018; Zhong et al., 2021). Unfortunately, despite one in four women living in LMICs experiencing depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the first year after giving birth (perinatal period), over 90% lack access to treatment (Fisher et al., 2012). In response to this concern, we have developed an intervention targeting the mental health problems (depressive symptoms primarily) among caregivers of young children in the China context (building on and adapting WHO’s Thinking Healthy Program), which we are calling the Thinking Healthy Extended Program (THEP).
Role: We now are seeking undergraduate research assistant(s) to (1) conduct a literature review on the Thinking Healthy Program globally, (2) translate the interview transcripts from Chinese to English, and if time allows, participate in coding the transcripts.
Qualifications: Qualifications: (1) Fluent in both English and Chinese (especially in the writing aspects) is required. (2) Must have excellent attention to detail and the ability to follow tasks through to completion and meet deadlines. (3) Ability to work both independently and collaboratively is preferred. (4) Having experience with literature review, qualitative research, and/or China-context research is preferred.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Qi Jiang, Graduate Student
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: On-line.
Social Sciences Biological & Health Sciences