INDIGO Partnership
(2018-2024) was a multi-country, multi-site research programme funded by the UK Medical Research Council. It had two overall aims: 1) to carry out research to strengthen the understanding of mechanisms of stigma processes and reduce stigma against people with mental health conditions in low and middle income countries; and 2) to establish a strong collaborative research consortium through conducting this work. The programme was active in China, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, and Tunisia.
Specifically, the Indigo Partnership involved developing and pilot testing anti-stigma interventions at the community, primary care, and mental health specialist care levels, with a systematic approach to cultural and contextual adaptation across the sites. This work also involved transcultural translation and adaptation of stigma and discrimination measurement tools. The Indigo Partnership operates with the key principle of partnering with people with lived experience of mental health conditions for the development and implementation of the pilot interventions, as well as capacity building and cross-site learning to actively develop a more globally representative and equitable mental health research community.
The INDIGO Partnership was funded by the UKRI Medical Research Council (Project Reference MR/R023697/1)
The Principal Investigators of the INDIGO Partnership were Prof Sir Graham Thornicroft (2018-2024) and Prof Claire Henderson (2024). The Scientific Coordinator of the Indigo Partnership was Dr Petra Gronholm.
The INDIGO Partnership included three stigma reduction interventions:
- Indigo LOCAL reducing stigma and improving access to care for people with mental health conditions in the community
- Indigo PRIMARY reducing stigma among primary health care workers
- Indigo READ-MH training for mental health professionals in responding to mental health-related discrimination
The contextual and cultural adaptation procedures underpinning these interventions were led by Dr Shabab Wahid and Prof Brandon Kohrt.
- INDIGO Partnership contextual and cultural adaptation
Overview of Indigo Project design: work packages (WPs 1-7) and programme objectives 1-6.
The implementation sites of INDIGO Partnership were:
- China (Beijing), Peking University Sixth Hospital (Leads: Dr Ma Ning, Dr Wufang Zhang)
- China (Guangzhou), Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Lead: Prof Jie Li)
- Ethiopia, School of Public Health at Addis Ababa University (Lead: Dr Eshetu Girma)
- India (Bengaluru), National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) (Lead: Prof Santosh Loganathan, Dr Anish Cherian)
- India (Delhi), George Institute for Global Health (Lead: Prof Pallab Maulik)
- Nepal, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (TPO Nepal) (Lead: Dr Dristy Gurung, Prof Brandon Kohrt)
- Tunisia, Razi University Hospital La Manouba, affiliated with the University of Tunis El Manar (Lead: Prof Uta Ouali, Dr Yosra Zgueb)
Other INDIGO Partnership collaborators:
- Prof Bakolis, Ioannis; Statistical support and analysis; scale adaptation/validation
- Dr Brohan, Elaine; Statistical support and analysis; scale adaptation/validation; implementation evaluation
- Dr Evans-Lacko, Sara; Statistical support and analysis; scale adaptation/validation
- Dr Gronholm, Petra; Indigo Partnership scientific coordinator
- Dr Healey, Andy; Costings analysis of Indigo Partnership
- Prof Henderson, Claire; Indigo READ Lead; Indigo Partnership Principal Investigator (2024); INDIGO coordinator
- Prof Kohrt, Brandon; Cultural/contextual adaptation; Indigo PRIMARY Lead
- Prof Rüsch, Nicolas; Statistical support and analysis; scale adaptation/validation
- Dr Salisbury, Tatiana; Knowledge Exchange Lead
- Dr Semrau, Maya; Indigo LOCAL Lead
- Prof Sir Thornicroft, Graham; INDIGO founder; Indigo Partnership Principal Investigator (2018-2024)
- Dr Votruba, Nicole; Indigo LOCAL Lead
- Dr Wahid, Shabab; Cultural/contextual adaptation; Indigo PRIMARY Lead
- Dr Yaziji. Nahel; Costings analysis of Indigo Partnership