Module Specification
An online version of this specification is available to prospective students at
www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/msc_module_handbook/section3_moduledescript/modules.html
GENERAL INFORMATION
Module name
Design and evaluation of mental health programmes
Module code
2342
Module Organisers
Mary De Silva and Daniela Fuhr
Contact email
mary.desilva@lshtm.ac.uk or daniela.fuhr@lshtm.ac.uk
Home Faculty
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health
Level
This module is at Level 7 (postgraduate Masters ‘M’ level) of the QAA
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales & Northern
Ireland (FHEQ)
Credit
LSHTM award 15 credits on successful completion of this module
Accreditation
Not currently accredited by any other body
Keywords
Mental health problems, research, interventions, planning and programming
AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND AUDIENCE
Overall aim
To attract and work with students who are committed to integrating packages
of care for mental disorders into routine platforms of care. For students taking
the MSc in Global Mental health, this module will provide an excellent
foundation for ‘Scaling up packages of care’ module (run in term 3), as well as
providing an excellent grounding in intervention development and evaluation
for other students.
Intended learning
outcomes
By the end of this module, students should be able to:



Describe and critically assess the integration of packages of care for
mental disorders into different platforms of care (for e.g. into primary
care, maternal healthcare or into platforms of care for other
communicable and non-communicable diseases such as HIV or
diabetes) to create mental health programmes, with a focus on low
resource settings;
Be fluent in the application of Theory of Change to design a mental
health programme and to use it as a framework to evaluate the
effectiveness and process of delivering the programme;
Understand how to integrate a package of care for a specific mental
disorder into a platform of healthcare delivery, provide an
accompanying formative research plan and evaluation strategy, with a
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supporting rationale based upon a synthesis of the knowledge gained
from the module overall and provide a critical evaluation of the
strengths and limitations of the approach.
Target audience
This module is intended for students who wish to be able to design mental
health programmes. MSc Global Mental Health students (compulsory module)
and students from Kings College London Institute of Psychiatry, taking the
Mental Health Services and Population Research MSc program, may take the
module.
Students should have taken the Fundamentals in Global Mental Health module
in Term 1, and the Principles of Psychiatric Epidemiology module at the IoP to
be eligible to take this course. Exceptions may be made taking into account the
previous experience of a student who has not taken these modules.
CONTENT
Session content
The module is expected to include sessions addressing the following topics
linked directly to the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO) (please note that these
may be subject to change). The topics are listed in the order that they will be
taught in the module.
ILO 1

Principles of integrating packages of care for mental disorders into
platforms of care. To create mental health programmes

Resources (human, financial and other) required for delivery of mental
health programmes
ILOs 2 & 3

A series of case studies illustrating mental health programmes which
integrate packages of care for mental disorders into platforms of care (for
e.g. HIV, maternal health care, NCD care or humanitarian contexts).

Formative research and piloting to design a mental health programme by
integrating a package of care for a mental disorder into a platform of
healthcare delivery

Evaluation of mental health programmes including effectiveness and
process evaluations

Group work assignment, (30%) and individual report (70%).
TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
Study resources
provided or required
Module reader with key readings, a library box with additional readings
Teaching and learning
methods
Lectures, seminars, and group work exercises. The main further avenues of
student learning comprise private study of material in readers or on reading
list, research and reading beyond provided material, and preparation of their
group and individual coursework.
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Assessment details
The assessment will focus on an explicit assessment of ILOs 2 & 3. ILOs 1 will
simultaneously be assessed as it is the foundation of ILOs 2 & 3.
Development of a mental health programme | Instructions for students
Please choose a package of care delivered through a routine platform of care
from the following list:
1. A package of care for alcohol use disorders delivered in primary care
facilities.
2. A package of care for perinatal depression delivered through maternal
health care settings.
3. A package of care for depression and HIV delivered through HIV clinics.
4. A package of care for psychosis delivered by an NGO in a community
setting.
5. A package of care for the promotion and prevention of childhood
mental health problems delivered in schools.
You will be placed in groups of 3 – 5 students based on your choice of platform
at the start of week 2.
You can choose which country you want to deliver the programme in. We
recommend that you use the country that you developed a profile for in
Fundamentals in Global Mental Health, but you are free to choose another
setting you are familiar with if you would like. Non-Global Mental Health
students who did not take the Fundamentals in Global Mental Health module in
term 1 are allowed to use a country profile developed by students who took
this module, or use another setting of their choice. Country profiles are
available on Moodle. Please choose a particular district within the country you
have chosen in which to develop your chosen mental health progamme.
The assessment will be in two parts:
PART I | Theory of Change map | group assessment
The group will work together in weeks 2 and 3 of the module to develop a
Theory of Change map outlining what the package of care is and how it will be
integrated into a platform of care in the setting of their choice. If students in the
same group have chosen different countries, then the group will have to decide
which country to base the Theory of Change map in. The group will submit a
Theory of Change map and key (can be printed on A3 for ease of reading) by
the end of the 4th week of the module. This will be worth 30% of the marks.
Everyone in the group will receive the same grade.
PART II | Intervention development research proposal | individual
assessment
Students will work individually to write a formative research proposal to test the
mental health programme described in the Theory of Change map they worked
on in groups. Students can choose to work in a different setting from that used by
their Theory of Change group, but they should use the same mental health
programme. Students will complete all sections of the proposal form. The
research proposal will include: the rationale for developing the programme; an
outline of the mental health programme to be developed; the aims and
objectives of the research; the research questions to be answered based on the
assumptions in the Theory of Change; the formative research methods to be
used to answer the questions, and an outline of the methods to be used to pilot
the intervention. This will be worth 70% of the marks and will be individually
assessed.
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Assessment dates
The Theory of Change map will be due on Friday 18 March 2016. The individual
report will be due on Thursday 24 March 2016.
For students who are required to re-sit, or granted a deferral or new attempt,
the next assessment deadline will be the standard School-recommended date in
mid/late September 2015. The assignment for re-sits will be issued at the start
of September after the exam boards have sat and decided which students are
required to re-sit. The re sit assessment will be an individual intervention
development proposal including a Theory of Change map on a different topic
from the set for the module assessment.
Language of study and
assessment
English.
TIMING AND MODE OF STUDY
Duration
The module runs for 5 weeks at 2.5 days per week; this module runs between
Wednesday afternoon and Friday.
Dates
For 2015-16, the module will start on Wednesday 24 February 2016 and finish
on Thursday 24 March 2016.
Timetable slot
The module runs in LSHTM timetable slot D2.
Mode of Study
The module is taught face-to-face in London. Both full-time and part-time
students follow the same schedule. For full-time students, other LSHTM
modules are available in the other half of the week in the D1 slot.
Learning time
The notional learning time for the module totals [150] hours, consisting of:

Contact time ≈ [65] hours

Directed self-study ≈ [25] hours

Self-directed learning ≈ [30] hours

Assessment, review and revision ≈ [30] hours
APPLICATION, ADMISSION AND FEES
Pre-requisites
None – other than that standard LSHTM entry criteria apply.
English language
requirements
A strong command of the English language is necessary to benefit from
studying the module. Applicants whose first language is not English or whose
prior university studies have not been conducted wholly in English must fulfil
LSHTM’s English language requirements, with an acceptable score in an
approved test taken in the two years prior to entry. Applicants may be asked to
take a test even if the standard conditions have been met.
Student numbers
In 2014, 33 students took the module (25 from the MSc in GMH and 8 from
other MSc programmes in the School). In 2015 we expect a similar number of
students, though the number of applications for the MSc has increased so it is
possible that we will have more than 25 MSc GMH students.
Numbers may be capped due to limitations in facilities or staffing.
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Student selection
Preference will be given to LSHTM MSc students, beginning with those
registered for the MSc in Global Mental Health, and LSHTM research degree
students. Other applicants meeting the entry criteria will usually be offered a
place in the order applications are received, until any cap on numbers is
reached. Applicants may be placed on a waiting list and given priority the next
time the module is run. Students on the Mental Health Service and Population
Research MSc at the Institute of Psychiatry will also be able to register for this
module, and will pay a fee (to be decided) to attend.
Fees
For registered LSHTM MSc students, fees for the module are included within
MSc fees (given on individual course prospectus pages).
If registering specifically for this module, as a stand-alone short course (from
2014), individual module fees will apply.
Tuition fees must be paid in full before commencing the module, or by any fee
deadline set by the Registry.
Scholarships
Scholarships are not available for individual modules. Some potential sources
of funding for the MSc in Global Mental Health are detailed on the LSHTM
website.
Admission deadlines
For 2015-16:

For registered LSHTM MSc students, the module choice deadline (for Term
2 and 3 modules) is Friday 20 November 2015.

This deadline will also be the same for students on the Mental Health
Service and Population Research MSc at the Institute of Psychiatry.

If registering specifically for this module, applications should be submitted
at the latest 8 weeks prior to the start of the module. However as places are
limited, applications ahead of the MSc deadline are strongly advised.
Formal registration will take place on the morning of the first day of the
module.
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
This module specification applies for the academic year 2015-16
Last revised 23 June 2015, by Mary De Silva
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London WC1E 7HT.
www.lshtm.ac.uk
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