Identifying Community-Sourced Implementation Strategies for Delivering a Task-Shared Mental Health Intervention for...

To design accessible interventions, understanding how best to implement them in context is essential. Strategies that reflect community perspectives may be most relevant and impactful. This study aimed to identify and specify community-sourced implementation strategies for delivering a mental health and alcohol use intervention for fathers in Kenya and to map them to the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) taxonomy.

In Eldoret, Kenya, focus groups (seven groups; 31 participants) and key informant interviews (n = 18) were conducted with hospital leaders, policymakers, mental health providers, community leaders, fathers, lay providers, patients, and men currently experiencing mental health and alcohol use challenges. Data were analyzed using the framework method to generate high-level codes, followed by a second phase to extract, specify, and review implementation strategies.

Community members identified lay providers recruited from the community as a promising delivery approach, with professional providers contributing to linkage to care and support for more acute needs. Engagement of community leaders and leveraging existing infrastructure were seen as key to enhancing implementation and reach, particularly among men. Multiple delivery settings (e.g., church, hospital, school) were considered acceptable depending on patient preference. A total of 25 unique community-sourced strategies were identified: three directly matched ERIC strategies, 19 were adapted, and two were unique to the community context.

This study identified locally grounded implementation strategies to guide early-stage intervention delivery for fathers in Kenya. Findings contribute to the growing body of implementation science in non-Western contexts and highlight a participatory approach for identifying and specifying strategies relevant to local systems and populations.