DepressionMCENCT07760701
Description of the Lived Experiences of Family Caregivers for People With Mental Health Comorbidities
An observational study of Depression and Anxiety, run by Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia at 1 site in Zambia.
Trial summary
Mental health problems such as depression, trauma and anxiety are common in low-resource contexts, such as Zambia. Comorbidity, or having multiple mental health problems, is the norm. Family or friends often care for these individuals in the home. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any ageHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Depression, Anxiety, Trauma
- How many people
- 30 participants
- Where
- 1 siteZambia
- Study dates
- 15 Jul 2023to 29 May 2024
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Study population: The population for this study will be comprised of 1) caregivers that have provided unpaid mental health care to a relative with mental health comorbidities during the pandemic, 2) individuals aged 15 and above with mental health comorbidities that have received care from family caregivers during the pandemic, and 3) mental health experts that provide professional care for mental health comorbidities
- Mental health experts Inclusion criteria
- Provided counselling or psychiatric care to care-recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Works within or around Lusaka city
- Willing to participate in the study Exclusion criteria
- Did not interact with family caregivers extensively
- Family caregivers Inclusion criteria
- Provide unpaid care to a care-recipient during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Live in the same house with the care-recipient Exclusion criteria <!-- -->
- Unrelated to care-recipient. Other carer's such as housekeepers that may assist with home-based care for care-recipients.
- Other relatives that assist with logistics (for example driving the patient to a hospital) but do not spend significant time with the patient.
- Care-recipients Inclusion criteria
- Experience one or more mental health problems as reported by either the caregiver or themselves
- Cared for by a family caregiver in a home setting during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Aged 15 years and above Exclusion criteria <!-- -->
- Care-recipient's with severe mental health illness (e.g. psychosis, schizophrenia and severe dementia) that prevents them from giving informed consent.
- Care-recipients institutionalized in a mental health facility and not receiving care from a family caregiver during the COVID-19 pandemic
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: The Lived Experiences of Family Caregivers of People With Mental Health Comorbidities in Zambia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study
Mental health problems such as depression, trauma and anxiety are common in low-resource contexts, such as Zambia. Comorbidity, or having multiple mental health problems, is the norm. Family or friends often care for these individuals in the home. Providing care often leads to disrupted social life, financial hardships and emotional stress. Extant research shows mental health concerns were exacerbated by COVID-19, however, very little is known about the experiences of family caregivers in Zambia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This project aims to describe the lived experiences of family caregivers, including challenges, self-directed coping skills, and access to services and resources.
Read the detailed description
Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, trauma, substance and alcohol use are common and a primary driver of disease burden globally. In Zambia, the prevalence of mental health problems is an estimated 20%. Mental health comorbidity, which is the occurrence of multiple mental health problems at the same time, is more common among impoverished communities. Over 60% of Zambians are classified as poor, a population particularly at-risk for the most severe and lifelong mental health conditions. Common risk factors for mental health comorbidities include domestic violence and stress, grief and loss, infections such as malaria, HIV and syphilis, and poverty which limits access to care and basic needs such as clean water, electricity and proper housing.
Individuals with mental health comorbidities in low resource settings are often cared for by family caregivers. Family caregivers opt to care for their relatives from home due to the stigma associated with having a relative hospitalized in a mental health facility. Further, limited healthcare resources and knowledge of mental health comorbidities make home-based care more accessible. While caring for an individual with mental health comorbidities can be a positive and rewarding experience, it can also lead to the caregiver experiencing disruptions in their social life, increased financial costs, reduced self-care, and other adverse emotional responses such as self-blame, burnout, anxiety and sadness. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the severity and frequency of mental health comorbidities, increasing burden and psychological reactions among caregivers, and in turn, impacting their ability to provide care. In addition, existing evidence suggests these psychological reactions impact adherence to public health measures that reduce risk of infection, sickness and death. Few studies have explored the perspectives of recipients of caregiver-provided mental health care, caregivers, and mental health experts on how best to care for individuals with pre-existing mental health comorbidities during the pandemic. Together, these key perspectives can provide deeper insights on how to increase access to services and resources for caregivers, coping skills, and inform future development of policy guidelines.
Aim This project aims to describe the lived experiences of family caregivers, including challenges, self-directed coping skills, and access to services and resources.
Research questions
- What are the experiences of family caregivers providing care for individuals with mental health comorbidities in low resource contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- What resources are available to support family caregivers to enhance home-based care for individuals with mental health comorbidities?
- What are the recommendations from caregivers, recipients of care and mental health experts when caring for individuals with mental health comorbidities in low resource contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Conditions
- Depression, Anxiety, Trauma
- Keywords
- family caregivers, mental health comorbidity, Covid-19
- Medical subject headings
- Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Wounds and Injuries, COVID-19
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Identification of meaning units
Determine caregiver experiences that are meaningful using semi-structured interview guides
Measured: Single time point
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted12 Aug 2026
- Study start15 Jul 2023
- Primary completion29 May 2024
- Study completion29 May 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for DepressionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Enrolment
- 30 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Mwamba Mwila Mwenge, MBA, MSc, Principal investigator, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in ZambiaMwamba Mwenge, MBA, MSc, Principal investigator, Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07760701
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UNZA-4020/2023 MCE Study
- Acronym
- MCE
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 17 Mar 2025
- Last updated
- 12 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Lived Experiences of Family Caregivers of People With Mental Health Comorbidities in Zambia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07760701
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MCE / UNZA-4020/2023 MCE Study
- Conditions
- Depression, Anxiety, Trauma
- Keywords
- family caregivers, mental health comorbidity, Covid-19
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 30 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Centre for Infectious Disease Research in ZambiaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 15 Jul 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 29 May 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 29 May 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 12 Aug 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Mental health problems such as depression, trauma and anxiety are common in low-resource contexts, such as Zambia. Comorbidity, or having multiple mental health problems, is the norm. Family or friends often care for these individuals in the home. Providing care often leads to disrupted social life, financial hardships and emotional stress. Extant research shows mental health concerns were exacerbated by COVID-19, however, very little is known about the experiences of family caregivers in Zambia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This project aims to describe the lived experiences of family caregivers, including challenges, self-directed coping skills, and access to services and resources.
Detailed description
Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, trauma, substance and alcohol use are common and a primary driver of disease burden globally. In Zambia, the prevalence of mental health problems is an estimated 20%. Mental health comorbidity, which is the occurrence of multiple mental health problems at the same time, is more common among impoverished communities. Over 60% of Zambians are classified as poor, a population particularly at-risk for the most severe and lifelong mental health conditions. Common risk factors for mental health comorbidities include domestic violence and stress, grief and loss, infections such as malaria, HIV and syphilis, and poverty which limits access to care and basic needs such as clean water, electricity and proper housing.
Individuals with mental health comorbidities in low resource settings are often cared for by family caregivers. Family caregivers opt to care for their relatives from home due to the stigma associated with having a relative hospitalized in a mental health facility. Further, limited healthcare resources and knowledge of mental health comorbidities make home-based care more accessible. While caring for an individual with mental health comorbidities can be a positive and rewarding experience, it can also lead to the caregiver experiencing disruptions in their social life, increased financial costs, reduced self-care, and other adverse emotional responses such as self-blame, burnout, anxiety and sadness. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the severity and frequency of mental health comorbidities, increasing burden and psychological reactions among caregivers, and in turn, impacting their ability to provide care. In addition, existing evidence suggests these psychological reactions impact adherence to public health measures that reduce risk of infection, sickness and death. Few studies have explored the perspectives of recipients of caregiver-provided mental health care, caregivers, and mental health experts on how best to care for individuals with pre-existing mental health comorbidities during the pandemic. Together, these key perspectives can provide deeper insights on how to increase access to services and resources for caregivers, coping skills, and inform future development of policy guidelines.
Aim This project aims to describe the lived experiences of family caregivers, including challenges, self-directed coping skills, and access to services and resources.
Research questions
- What are the experiences of family caregivers providing care for individuals with mental health comorbidities in low resource contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- What resources are available to support family caregivers to enhance home-based care for individuals with mental health comorbidities?
- What are the recommendations from caregivers, recipients of care and mental health experts when caring for individuals with mental health comorbidities in low resource contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- The population for this study will be comprised of 1) caregivers that have provided unpaid mental health care to a relative with mental health comorbidities during the pandemic, 2) individuals aged 15 and above with mental health comorbidities that have received care from family caregivers during the pandemic, and 3) mental health experts that provide professional care for mental health comorbidities
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Primary outcome
Identification of meaning units
Time frame: Single time point
Determine caregiver experiences that are meaningful using semi-structured interview guides
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Aug 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Mwamba Mwila Mwenge, MBA, MSc principal investigator
Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia
Mwamba Mwenge, MBA, MSc principal investigator
Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Depression and Anxiety, run by Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia at 1 site in Zambia.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Zambia. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Identification of meaning units (time frame: Single time point). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Aug 2026.