Peter Memiah, DrPH, MSc, Associate Professor, Epidemiology (Ciheb)

Fernando Wagner, MPH, DS, Professor, UM School of Social Work

Collaborator: Dr. Lilian Otiso, LVCT Health

REACH (Reaching, Engaging Adolescents and Young Adults for Care Continuum in Health) - Mental Health is a study in Kenya through a collaboration between UMB’s School of Medicine and School of Social Work, LVCT Health, and the Kenya Ministry of Health.

The study will adapt adolescent-led participatory research complemented by a review of secondary data to: (1) identify key mental health risk factors among adolescents utilizing digital technology to solicit information and (2) conduct targeted qualitative interviews to identify barriers and facilitators of mental health services for adolescents.

REACH will provide needed evidence on the burden of adolescent mental health and inform the design of age-appropriate mental health services for adolescents. REACH will create a new collaborative community that will provide valuable growth opportunities to students (with four available global internships opportunities) and faculty, while contributing to develop innovative strategies to improve the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents.