Bewertung der Machbarkeit eines schulbasierten Stepped Care-Programms zur Internalisierung von Symptomen bei Jugendlichen in Pakistan: Ein sequentielles Pilot-Cluster-Cluster-Cluster-Studie (Smart-Step) (SMART-STEP)

The first-stage intervention, eSMHP Plus, is delivered by teachers and non-specialists in classrooms. eSMHP enhances mental health literacy, training providers in early identification, counseling, life skills, positive discipline, parental engagement, referrals, and teacher well-being. Teachers follow a lesson plan, supported by non-specialists through biweekly school visits. Non-specialists co-deliver activities and supervise teachers to address challenges and promote well-being. At six weeks, adolescents scoring ≥28 on PSC are re-randomized to continue eSMHP Plus or receive a step-up, CBT-based guided self-help app for two months. The app, accessible via tablet/mobile, is based on empirically supported strategies.

The first-stage intervention is eSMHP Plus in the intervention arm and eSMHP in the control arm. In the intervention arm, adolescents receive eSMHP Plus from teachers and non-specialists, while in the control arm, they receive eSMHP from teachers. eSMHP, based on developmental, behavioral, social, and cognitive theories, enhances teachers' mental health literacy, training them in early identification, basic counseling, life skills, positive discipline, parental engagement, referrals, and teacher well-being. The second-stage intervention is a CBT-based self-help app. At six weeks, adolescents scoring ≥28 on PSC in both arms (indicating psychosocial distress) are re-randomized to continue their initial treatment (eSMHP Plus or eSMHP) or receive a step-up, CBT-based guided self-help app for two months.

• CBT-basierte geführte Selbsthilfanmeldung

The first-stage intervention in the control arm, eSMHP, is delivered by teachers only. Teachers in ETAU complete online training (www.learnwithshine.org) to enhance mental health literacy, learning to identify socioemotional issues and provide basic psychosocial support through counseling skills, life skills, positive discipline, parental engagement, and referrals. A dedicated module promotes teacher well-being. At six weeks, adolescents scoring ≥28 on PSC are re-randomized to continue eSMHP or receive a step-up, CBT-based guided self-help app for two months. The app, accessible via tablet/mobile, is based on empirically supported strategies and offers comprehensive features for adolescents.

The first-stage intervention is eSMHP Plus in the intervention arm and eSMHP in the control arm. In the intervention arm, adolescents receive eSMHP Plus from teachers and non-specialists, while in the control arm, they receive eSMHP from teachers. eSMHP, based on developmental, behavioral, social, and cognitive theories, enhances teachers' mental health literacy, training them in early identification, basic counseling, life skills, positive discipline, parental engagement, referrals, and teacher well-being. The second-stage intervention is a CBT-based self-help app. At six weeks, adolescents scoring ≥28 on PSC in both arms (indicating psychosocial distress) are re-randomized to continue their initial treatment (eSMHP Plus or eSMHP) or receive a step-up, CBT-based guided self-help app for two months.

• CBT-basierte geführte Selbsthilfanmeldung

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for adolescents is a 9-item instrument (on a 4-point Likert scale; range 0-27) to measure depressive symptoms in the past 2 weeks (Richardson et al., 2010) and that is previously adapted, validated and shown high reliability in Pakistan (Cronbach α=0.83).

PSC will also serve as an intermediate tailoring variable. It is well-established 35-item scale. It consists of three subscales, internalizing, externalizing and attention problems. The Urdu version has been previously adapted and used in Pakistan, showing satisfactory reliability and validity.

It is a 25-item instrument (on a 4-point Likert scale; range 0-100) to measure levels of anxiety and low mood. It has two subscales (anxiety & depression). It has been adapted and used successfully in Pakistan.

It is a self-rated measure that assesses mental health domains that are important across psychiatric diagnoses. It is intended to help identify additional areas of inquiry that may have a significant impact on the child's treatment and prognosis. Each item on the measure is rated on a 5-point scale (0=none or not at all; 1=slight or rare, less than a day or two; 2=mild or several days; 3=moderate or more than half the days; and 4=severe or nearly every day). A rating of mild (i.e., 2) or greater on any item within a domain (except for suicidal ideation and psychosis) will serve as a guide for additional inquiry and follow-up to determine if a more detailed assessment for that domain is necessary.

It is a 10-item tool (on a 3-point Likert scale); 0-20 to measure somatic symptoms of distress. It has been previously adapted and used in Pakistan.

Experience of bullying in the past 30 days will be measured through the contextualised version of the Bullying Victimization Questionnaire. The total score can range from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating higher levels of victimization by peers.

The change in school climate (students' relationship with teachers, belongingness with the schools and peers, students' commitment to the school tasks, and participation in school activities) will be measured using the adapted version of the Beyound Blue School Climate Questionnaire. The tool will be administered to both children and their caregivers. The questionnaire consists of 28 items. Each item is rated on a 3-point Likert scale (yes=1, No = 0, I can't say = no score). The total score of BBSCQ can range from 0 to 28, where higher scores indicate a more favourable view of the school climate.

A study-specific questionnaire will be developed to obtain records of attendance and academic grades from the school records at baseline and 3 months post-intervention delivery.

Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWS): It is a 7-item scale and assesses the mental wellbeing by evaluating the functioning of thoughts and feelings in the past two weeks. Items are rated on Likert scale that ranges from "none of the time" to "all of the time". The total score is calculated by summing the responses on all the items.

The Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) is a 20-item self-report measure to detect non-specific psychological distress, developed by the WHO. Psychological distress is represented by subscales of physical symptoms and emotional symptoms. The SRQ items are scored 0 or 1. A score of 1 indicates the presence of symptoms of psychological distress

The 12 items Teachers Sense of efficacy scale will be used to assess teacher's belief about his or her capabilities to enhance students' learning and to be able to support students who are difficult or unmotivated. The scale measures teacher's efficacy on three subscales namely, instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management. The items are rated on 5 points Likert scale ranging from (1) 'None at all' to (5) 'A great deal'.

Each question is scored on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 representing the lowest and 4 the highest rating of social and emotional support. To obtain an overall mean or average, the scores of all the answered questions are added and divided by the total number of questions answered. Higher scores indicate a better psychosocial environment at the school.

The Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) is a 20-item self-report measure to detect non-specific psychological distress, developed by the WHO. Psychological distress is represented by subscales of physical symptoms and emotional symptoms. The SRQ items are scored 0 or 1. A score of 1 indicates the presence of symptoms of psychological distress

The positive involvement subscale of the Alamaba Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) will be used to measure parenting practices. The subscale measures whether parents talk more friendly with children; help children in planning and conducting special activities; know what they are doing in their free time; play games with them; help them with their homework; get interested in their day-to-day plans and activities; and know about their friends. Items are rated on a five-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = almost always). The total score is calculated by summing all the items. The minimum score is 10, and the maximum score is 50. Higher scores indicate more positive outcomes.