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The study of teacher well-being is critically important. However, teacher well-being studies are lacking in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and also generally in low-income countries. This exploratory case study sought to identify teachers' perceptions of work-related characteristics and personal practices associated with well-being and burnout in three underrepresented, diverse sites: Battambang, Cambodia; Bungoma, Kenya; and Doha, Qatar. Ninety teachers participated in in-depth interviews (Qatar N = 21, Cambodia N = 33, Kenya N = 36), as well as 16 principals and 11 policymakers. Qualitative analysis was conducted using data-driven, emergent codes. Findings revealed that teachers attributed remarkably similar processes and key components to their well-being (e.g., engagement school-wide or district-wide, schools attending to teachers' personal needs) and burnout (e.g., administrative burden, student misbehavior) across all three sites, with a few notable differences worthy of future follow-up. Few teachers could name any well-being programs at their school.

Background. Globally, nearly 140 million children have experienced the death of one or both parents, and as a result many experience higher rates of mental health problems. Traumafocused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) delivered by lay counselors has been shown to improve mental health outcomes for children experiencing traumatic grief due to parental loss; however, challenges with treatment attendance limit the public health impact of mental health services. This study used qualitative methods to assess barriers and facilitators of child and guardian attendance of school-based lay counselor delivered TF-CBT. Methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 lay counselors (18 teachers; 18 community health volunteers) who delivered TF-CBT to explore their perceptions of barriers of facilitators of child and guardian attendance of group-based sessions delivered in schools. Results. Counselors identified attendance barriers and facilitators related to the delivery setting, resources, participant characteristics, intervention characteristics and counselor behaviors. The findings revealed a greater number of facilitators than barriers. Common facilitators included participant and counselor resources, counselor commitment behaviors and communication efforts to encourage attendance. Barriers were less frequently endorsed, with participant resources, child or guardian illness and communication challenges most commonly mentioned. Conclusions. Attention to barriers and facilitators of attendance in the context in which mental health interventions are delivered allows for identification of ways to improve attendance and treatment engagement and achieve the potential promise of providing accessible mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opportunities exist to leverage mobile phones to replace or supplement in-person supervision of lay counselors. However, contextual variables, such as network connectivity and provider preferences, must be considered. Using an iterative and mixed methods approach, we co-developed implementation guidelines to support the implementation of mobile phone supervision with lay counselors and supervisors delivering a culturally adapted trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy in Western Kenya. Guidelines were shared and discussed with lay counselors in educational outreach visits led by supervisors. We evaluated the impact of guidelines and outreach on the acceptability, feasibility, and usability of mobile phone supervision. Guidelines were associated with significant improvements in acceptability and usability of mobile phone supervision. There was no evidence of a significant difference in feasibility. Qualitative interviews with lay counselors and supervisors contextualized how guidelines impacted acceptability and feasibility - by setting expectations for mobile phone supervision, emphasizing importance, increasing comfort, and sharing strategies to improve mobile phone supervision. Introducing and discussing co-developed implementation guidelines significantly improved the acceptability and usability of mobile phone supervision. This approach may provide a flexible and scalable model to address challenges with implementing evidence-based practices and implementation strategies in lower-resourced areas., Competing Interests: N.S.T. has received honoraria for speaking engagements with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a funder of this work. S.D. has received grants and honorariums for providing training and consultation on the treatment model that was adapted and delivered by the lay counselors (trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy). The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any significant commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) 2023.)