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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

SO207

Service-level strategies used to improve access to mental health services in South Asian populations: a systematic review

A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE SERVICE-LEVEL STRATEGIES USED TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR SOUTH ASIAN POPULATIONS

Multicomponent, community-integrated interventions appear promising for improving access to mental health services in South Asian populations, but the evidence base is limited and of low certainty.

The review aimed to identify service-level interventions implemented to improve access to mental health services among South Asian minority populations and to evaluate their effectiveness. PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and CINAHL were searched from inception to August 2026 (the conference abstract reported the search end date as November 2024). Studies targeting South Asian groups that explicitly reported quantitative pre- and post-intervention data were included. Following quality assessment and GRADE evaluation, a narrative synthesis was conducted because of heterogeneity. Of the 9,946 records identified, 2,366 were removed as duplicates; 7,580 records were screened by title and abstract, 191 full texts were assessed, and 11 studies were included in the review (3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 8 cohort studies). Most interventions were multicomponent: task sharing (n = 10), training lay workers (n = 10), integrating community-based services into the existing health system (n = 10), community awareness campaigns (n = 7), use of mobile technology (n = 3), and new detection/triage tools (n = 2). Ten of the 11 studies reported increased mental health service use following the intervention, while one found no overall effect; increases were particularly evident in studies combining demand-side and supply-side strategies. The quality assessment rated 5 studies as high quality, 5 as moderate quality, and 1 as low quality; GRADE rated the certainty of evidence as low for both intention to seek treatment and service use. Ten studies were conducted in South Asian countries and only one outside the region (in the United Kingdom), and most were regional in scope. The authors highlight the importance of addressing supply- and demand-side barriers together, incorporating components to reduce stigma, and co-designing services with South Asian service users. They also note the need for high-quality studies, including those conducted in Western countries, to strengthen the evidence base.

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