“We are kindly requesting your participation in the research study titled “Building Capacity by implementing mhGAP mobile intervention in SADC countries”.

Two questionnaires need to be administered, namely the: Demographic and Mental Health Literacy Scale. Before you decide whether or not to take part in this study, we would request that you read the information sheet on the purpose of this study, benefits, and risks to you, and what is expected of you. If you agree to take part, you will be asked to sign a consent form. Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary; you are under no obligation to participate. You should be aware that the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of the University of Zambia has approved this study.

The first reaction in most instances was to look at the length of the questionnaire and to compare it with the workload at hand. All potential participants responded by indicating that “two long questionnaires against the long queue of clients/patients waiting to be attended to is difficult to do”.   Team A was amazed at the assertiveness of one nurse who requested the researchers to assist with screening the patients while she answered the questionnaire considering that she was the only one present at the Health Centre.  The response was almost the same with Team B. Surprisingly once the process started, the response was good, with only a few clarifications and questions raised. The process is yet to be completed in the urban health centres, in Lusaka Province the capital city for Zambia.

The background survey was conducted among PHC practitioners. It included questions related to mental health care services available at PHC level, education development needs and mental health literacy. University ethical clearance and permission was obtained from the Director of Free State Department of Health (FSDoH) and all the levels of management in FSDoH – provincial, district and sub-district level – prior to commencement. All clinics (n=16) and community health centres (n=2) in the Mangaung Municipality were included (total facilities n=18). Consent forms were signed by nurses who agreed to participate. All registered and enrolled nurses and nurse assistants who indicated that they screen for mental health were provided with questionnaires and requested to participate. A total of 98 nurses participated, of which the majority were professional nurses. Only 8 staff nurses and three nurse assistants participated. Some nurses were very excited to participate but others felt that they do not have time or did not want to participate. Data was captured by 8 November on site at the University of the Free State using SPSS. Data cleaning and analysis are underway.

The panel consisted of both professional experts (the MEGA project researchers) and experiential experts (primary health care workers). Eleven (n=11) professional experts from the MEGA project management team and ten experientials (n=10) from the participating project partner clinic were invited to share their thoughts about Mental Health Literacy Scale (O’Connor & Casey 2015) and to test the relevance of the elements/items (n=35) of the scale. After answering the questionnaire, a focus group discussion was held.

This panel method is an important phase in hearing research experts’ opinions about the relevance of the study methods and tools. Respectively, via an expert panel, also the voices of the local clinical professionals and their professional experience can be involved in the early stage of the project.