Jeffrey Ba
Biographic Data
| ID | 173417 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jeffrey Ba |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jeffrey |
| FAMILY NAME | Ba |
| SIGNATURE | BA J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Johns Hopkins University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5192-628X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 64 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 71 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 64 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Effectiveness of psychotherapy in improving medication adherence for hypertension and diabetes mellitus among displaced Myanmar patients in Thailand
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A suicide safety protocol with vulnerable populations with chronic physical health conditions
Suicide is a serious global health problem with ~73% deaths by suicide occurring in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs), many of which are among people experiencing humanitarian emergencies. Few guidelines outline specific steps and strategies to tackle suicide risk and manage post-attempt consequences in these settings, leaving program implementers with limited information to translate guidance to practice. This article describes the impleme…
Designing integrated care models for mental health and tuberculosis in Pune, India
People with tuberculosis (TB) and TB survivors are at increased risk for mental health (MH) conditions. Better management of conditions like depression can improve adherence to TB treatment, and integrating MH care into TB treatment may reduce the MH treatment gap and improve outcomes. This qualitative study explored design characteristics for integrated MH-TB care in Pune, India. Data collection involved in-depth interviews (n = 25) with TB surv…
Embrace the tension
box Implementation Science has largely privileged the transfer and scale-up of interventions developed in high-income settings, often sidelining local knowledges and reinforcing postcolonial hierarchies
Global mental health and psychosocial support programming
The global mental health (GMH) field aims to equitably improve mental health and well-being everywhere. This article reviews persistent common challenges hindering sustained, high-quality delivery of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). Our focus is on programming that is funded or implemented by external organizations, typically universities or international non-governmental organizations from high-income countries. It is a consensus …
Longitudinal Investigation of Stigma and Psychosocial Outcomes Among Women Exposed to Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Current studies suggest relationships between sexual violence, stigma, and psychosocial functioning but cannot disentangle temporal relationships. We used longitudinal data from the Democratic Republic of Congo to fit models estimating whether stigma predicted the long-term psychosocial well-being of sexual-violence-exposed women who participated in a cognitive processing therapy trial. We found that felt stigma predicted depression and anxiety (…
The added benefit of including cognitive coping in brief psychosocial interventions
Psychosocial programs in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) often omit cognitive strategies due to perceived difficulty for clients and lay providers. We evaluated the benefit of including “cognitive coping” in a brief, online intervention for conflict-affected Ukrainian veterans and family members with mild to moderate psychosocial distress. Participants were randomized to two treatment conditions based on the Common Elements Treatment Appr…
Drivers of men’s use of intimate partner violence in conflict-affected settings
Our findings suggest interpersonal violence exposures, trauma symptoms, and gender inequitable attitudes are all risk factors for the use of IPVAW in a conflict-affected setting. While continuing to focus on gender inequitable attitudes and norms, interventionists should also consider addressing men's experiences of victimization and mental wellbeing. Doing so can help to improve trauma symptoms and may hold promise to reduce IPVAW in conflict-af…
Mental and behavioral health problems among displaced Myanmar adults exhibiting suboptimal adherence to chronic disease medication treatment in Thailand
More than one-third of the displaced Myanmar adults who had suboptimal adherence to their chronic illness medications are living with moderate to severe mental health problems. The factors associated with more severe mental health problems were identified as having debt along with poor financial situation, having comorbid hypertension and diabetes, and having the worse scoring on the sleep problems scale. Integrating mental health support program…
Female genital mutilation/cutting and psychological distress among Somali women in the United States
Expanding mental health services in low- and middle-income countries
This paper proposes a framework for comprehensive, collaborative, and community-based care (C4) for accessible mental health services in low-resource settings. Because mental health conditions have many causes, this framework includes social, public health, wellness and clinical services. It accommodates integration of stand-alone mental health programs with health and non-health community-based services. It addresses gaps in previous models incl…
Implementation of a Community-Based Psychosocial Support Focal Point Response for Internally Displaced Persons in Myanmar During Covid-19
Background In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Mental Health research group at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health worked with three local partner organizations in Myanmar to develop a psychosocial support (PSS) program that could be delivered by community-based focal points in internally displaced persons camps. This PSS program was designed to be delivered in communities with limited access to regional mental health services due …
Maintenance of intervention effects
This study extends prior research to show that treatment impacts can be maintained for several years despite experiences of ongoing trauma. The women described continuing to meet with the women in their therapy group and using the skills they learned in the psychotherapy, providing evidence of the potential for these programs to provide valuable social supports and skills that people use as they continue to face adversity
Cost-effectiveness of psychological intervention within services for depression delivered by primary care workers in Nepal
Providing HAP within integrated depression services in Chitwan was cost-effective, if not highly cost-effective. Efforts to scale up integrated services in Nepal and similar contexts should consider including evidence-based psychological interventions as a part of cost-effective mental healthcare for depression
Development of the South Sudan Mental Health Assessment Scale
This study developed and validated a measure that captures variation in common local idioms of distress and mental health problems experienced by women in South Sudan, a country which has experienced over 50 years of violence, displacement, and political, social, and economic insecurity. This measure was developed during a randomized controlled trial of the Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI) and used qualitative Free Listing (n = 102) and Key Info…
A randomized-controlled trial of community-based transdiagnostic psychotherapy for veterans and internally displaced persons in Ukraine
Standard CETA is more effective than brief CETA, but brief CETA also had significant effects compared with wait-controls. Given demonstrated effectiveness, CETA could be scaled up as an effective community-based approach
Masculinity and mental health treatment initiation for former political prisoners in Yangon, Myanmar – a qualitative investigation
Masculinity was described in similar terms by both groups of participants. The interpretation of masculine qualities within the context of help-seeking (e.g. self-reliance as refusing help from others versus listening to others and applying that guidance) was a driving factor behind men's decision to enter psychotherapy
Longitudinal Dyadic Interdependence in Depression Symptoms of Caregivers Living with HIV in Uganda and Their Dependent Children’s Neurodevelopment and Executive Behavior Outcomes
Experiences of mental health and functioning among conflict-affected populations
Findings suggest a need for community-based programming that facilitates social adaptation, supports social network building, and helps engage conflict-affected people into mental health services. Programs that promote greater awareness, interaction, and understanding among the general public, military veterans, and IDPs are also warranted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
When less is more
Using Item Response Theory (IRT) we created shortened valid measures that can be used to help guide clinical decisions and function as longitudinal research tools. The results of this analysis demonstrate the reliability and validity of shortened scales in each of the two settings and an approach that can be generalized more broadly to help improve screening, monitoring, and evaluation of mental health and psychosocial programs globally
Measurement of Parenting Self-efficacy Among Female HIV-Affected Caregivers in Uganda
Assessing Predictors of Emotional Distress by Immigrant Type
Depression Symptom Trajectories Among Mothers Living with HIV in Rural Uganda
Parenting self‐efficacy in the context of poverty and HIV in Eastern Uganda
We sought to understand social representations of effective parenting and parenting self‐efficacy among female HIV‐affected caregivers in rural Eastern Uganda. We conducted in‐depth interviews ( n = 21) to describe parenting experiences and caregivers’ perceptions of their own parenting abilities and to create vignettes for use in directed focus groups. We carried out open focus groups ( n = 2) to gain social perspectives on parenting, and direct…
It Gets Better
Urban adolescents' perceptions of their neighborhoods
Spatial dependence exists when the variation between observations is dependent on spatial location. In the present study, geostatistical methods were used to examine spatial dependence in adolescents' perceptions of their neighborhoods: whether adolescents living in close proximity perceived their neighborhoods more similarly than adolescents living further apart. Participants included 343 adolescents (53% male; 91% African American) enrolled in …
Adolescent Resilience in Northern Uganda
We investigated relations between prosocial behavior, perceived social support, and improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms over 6 months among 102 Acholi adolescent (14–17 years, 58% female adolescents) survivors of war and displacement in Northern Uganda. Adolescents were assessed using a locally developed screener. Regression analyses measured the association between resilience factors and mental health outcomes. Findings indicated that…
Identifying mental health problems and Idioms of distress among older adult internally displaced persons in Georgia
Understanding resilience in armed conflict
In Exile from the Self
It has been estimated that Buenos Aires has more psychoanalysts per capita than any other city in the world. Middle-class porteos (as inhabitants of Buenos Aires are known) typically do not associate involvement with psychoanalytic therapy with depression or mental illness but, rather, often view it as a type of healthy self-exploration. This article explores how painful issues surrounding national belonging and Argentine identity often emerge as…
The Impact of Intergenerational Cultural Dissonance on Alcohol Use Among Vietnamese and Cambodian Adolescents in the United States
Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict
Drug Use among Street Children in Tehran, Iran
Introduction and objective: Globally, children who work and live on the streets are at higher risk of undesired behavioral health outcomes, including increased drug use and abuse. Considering the rapid growth of this population in Iran and the lack of program planning that is partly due to a scarcity of research-based information, this study was conducted in 2013 to investigate drug use among street children in Tehran. Method: With a qualitative …
It Gets Better
Parenting styles and emerging adult drug use in Cebu, the Philippines
Parenting style is a potent and malleable influence on emerging adult substance use. Most of the parenting-substance use literature has been conducted in Western populations and it is unknown whether findings are generalizable to other cultures and contexts. We extended the parenting-substance use literature to a cohort of emerging adults in the Philippines using the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey. We assessed associations between …
Pathways linking intergenerational cultural dissonance and alcohol use among Asian American youth
A difference in degree of acculturation between immigrant parents and children, known as intergenerational cultural dissonance (ICD), is a risk factor for adolescent alcohol use. We used path analysis with 292 Vietnamese and Cambodian adolescents from immigrant families in the United States to measure potential mediators (family conflict, parental involvement/monitoring, association with deviant peers) of the ICD-alcohol use relationship. The hyp…
The Effect of Cognitive Therapy on Structural Social Capital
Objectives. We evaluated changes in social capital following group-based cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for female survivors of sexual violence. Methods. We compared CPT with individual support in a cluster-randomized trial in villages in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Local psychosocial assistants delivered the interventions from April through July 2011. We evaluated differences between CPT and individual support cond…
What's being used at home
From our research we conclude that it will be important to continue to investigate all avenues of pesticide exposure in order to fully evaluate childhood exposures. Understanding household pesticide use and developing a model of exposure will help in this process. Profiles of the use, storage, and disposal of products will also guide the development of effective education and poison prevention programs in the community
Human Rights, Culture and Context
Human Rights, Culture and Context: Anthropological Perspectives. Richard A. Wilson. ed. (London and Chicago: Pluto Press, 1997).Death Squad: The Anthropology of State Terror. Jeffrey A. Sluka. ed. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000
Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression in Rural Uganda
CONTEXT: Despite the importance of mental illness in Africa, few controlled intervention trials related to this problem have been published. OBJECTIVES: To test the efficacy of group interpersonal psychotherapy in alleviating depression and dysfunction and to evaluate the feasibility of conducting controlled trials in Africa. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: For this cluster randomized, controlled clinical trial (February-June 2002), 30 village…
Urban adolescents' perceptions of their neighborhoods
Spatial dependence exists when the variation between observations is dependent on spatial location. In the present study, geostatistical methods were used to examine spatial dependence in adolescents' perceptions of their neighborhoods: whether adolescents living in close proximity perceived their neighborhoods more similarly than adolescents living further apart. Participants included 343 adolescents (53% male; 91% African American) enrolled in …
In Exile from the Self
It has been estimated that Buenos Aires has more psychoanalysts per capita than any other city in the world. Middle-class porteos (as inhabitants of Buenos Aires are known) typically do not associate involvement with psychoanalytic therapy with depression or mental illness but, rather, often view it as a type of healthy self-exploration. This article explores how painful issues surrounding national belonging and Argentine identity often emerge as…
Interventions for Depression Symptoms Among Adolescent Survivors of War and Displacement in Northern Uganda
CONTEXT: Prior qualitative work with internally displaced persons in war-affected northern Uganda showed significant mental health and psychosocial problems. OBJECTIVE: To assess effect of locally feasible interventions on depression, anxiety, and conduct problem symptoms among adolescent survivors of war and displacement in northern Uganda. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A randomized controlled trial from May 2005 through December 2005 of 31…
Barriers to acceptance and adherence of antiretroviral therapy in urban Zambian women
Sub-Saharan Africa contains over 60% of the world's HIV infections and Zambia is among the most severely affected countries in the region. As antiretroviral programs have been rapidly expanding, the long-term success of these programs depends on a good understanding of the behavioral determinants of acceptance and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). The study used qualitative methods to gain local insight into potentially important factors…
Building capacity in mental health interventions in low resource countries
BACKGROUND: Recent global mental health research suggests that mental health interventions can be adapted for use across cultures and in low resource environments. As evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of certain specific interventions begins to accumulate, guidelines are needed for how to train, supervise, and ideally sustain mental health treatment delivery by local providers in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). MODEL AND CAS…
Adaptation of cognitive processing therapy for treatment of torture victims
Community perceptions of mental distress in a post-conflict setting
There is scant documentation of the mental health characteristics of low-income communities recovering from armed conflict. To prepare for quantitative health surveys and health service planning in Burundi, we implemented a qualitative study to explore concepts related to mental distress and coping among adults. Mental distress was defined as problems related to feelings, thinking, behaviour and physical stress. Using free listing and key informa…
Adolescent Resilience in Northern Uganda
We investigated relations between prosocial behavior, perceived social support, and improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms over 6 months among 102 Acholi adolescent (14–17 years, 58% female adolescents) survivors of war and displacement in Northern Uganda. Adolescents were assessed using a locally developed screener. Regression analyses measured the association between resilience factors and mental health outcomes. Findings indicated that…
Adaptation and testing of psychosocial assessment instruments for cross-cultural use
This paper describes the importance and process of adaptation and testing, illustrated by the experiences and results for selected instruments in this population
The Effect of Cognitive Therapy on Structural Social Capital
Objectives. We evaluated changes in social capital following group-based cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for female survivors of sexual violence. Methods. We compared CPT with individual support in a cluster-randomized trial in villages in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Local psychosocial assistants delivered the interventions from April through July 2011. We evaluated differences between CPT and individual support cond…
Understanding resilience in armed conflict
War traumas in the Mediterranean area
INTRODUCTION: The purpose is to explore the consequences of war and its impact on mental health with attention to the Mediterranean area. METHODS: Narrative review of consequences of war on mental health and on the mental health of the communities in the current crises in the Mediterranean region. RESULTS: A series of outbreaks of war are still raging in the Mediterranean region and producing horrible effects with a considerable number of refugee…
Adaptation of community health worker-delivered behavioral activation for torture survivors in Kurdistan, Iraq
BATD was delivered by CHWs in a resource-poor, conflict-affected area in Kurdistan, Iraq, with some important modifications, including low-literacy adaptations, increased cultural relevancy of clinical materials, and tailored training and supervision for CHWs. Barriers to implementation, lessons learned, and recommendations for future efforts to adapt behavioral therapies for resource-limited, conflict-affected areas are discussed
Executive function and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Ugandan children with perinatal HIV exposure
Our results demonstrate structural validity of the ADHD measure with this population, strong associations between ADHD symptom severity and poorer executive function, and higher levels of executive function problems in perinatally HIV-exposed Ugandan children with ADHD. These findings suggest that ADHD may be an important neurocognitive disorder associated with executive function problems among children in sub-Saharan African settings where perin…
Parenting styles and emerging adult drug use in Cebu, the Philippines
Parenting style is a potent and malleable influence on emerging adult substance use. Most of the parenting-substance use literature has been conducted in Western populations and it is unknown whether findings are generalizable to other cultures and contexts. We extended the parenting-substance use literature to a cohort of emerging adults in the Philippines using the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey. We assessed associations between …
Exploring Psychological Distress in Burundi During and After the Armed Conflict
The Impact of Intergenerational Cultural Dissonance on Alcohol Use Among Vietnamese and Cambodian Adolescents in the United States
Drug Use among Street Children in Tehran, Iran
Introduction and objective: Globally, children who work and live on the streets are at higher risk of undesired behavioral health outcomes, including increased drug use and abuse. Considering the rapid growth of this population in Iran and the lack of program planning that is partly due to a scarcity of research-based information, this study was conducted in 2013 to investigate drug use among street children in Tehran. Method: With a qualitative …
Association of caregiver quality of care with neurocognitive outcomes in HIV-affected children aged 2–5 years in Uganda
Children affected by HIV are at increased risk of developmental and neuropsychological disturbances due to direct effects of HIV on the brain and direct effects associated with living in poverty. Caregivers can play an important role, through quality caregiving, in mitigating the negative effect of these stressors. This study used baseline data from an ongoing caregiver training intervention trial to evaluate the association between quality of ca…
Socio-demographic correlates of depression and anxiety among female caregivers living with HIV in rural Uganda
Women living with HIV are at increased risk for psychosocial distress, especially among social and economically disadvantaged women living in rural areas. Little is known about how social support and wealth impacts the mental health of women caring for young children in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this paper was to assess demographic, socio-economic, and social support correlates of depression and anxiety in HIV-infected+ fem…
The ethics of mental health survey research in low- and middle- income countries
Neuropsychiatric conditions are a leading cause of disability globally Efforts to understand this gap have led to an expansion of global mental health (GMH) research, particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) where the availability of treatment services is even more severely lacking Such surveys can provide data on unmet needs, be used to advocate for resources, and elucidate etiological processes; they also, however, pose ethical ch…
Local perceptions of the impact of group interpersonal psychotherapy in rural Uganda
Results suggest that providing treatment for depression in communities with high depression prevalence rates may lead to positive changes in a range of non-mental health outcomes
Psychology (49 works) · Medicine (48 works) · Psychiatry (46 works) · Clinical Psychology (37 works) · Mental health (35 works) · Clinical Psychology (26 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (25 works) · Mental Health Treatment and Access (20 works) · Anxiety (17 works) · Psychological intervention (16 works)