US and regional experts convene in Argentina to plan next steps in research collaboration
A meeting was held in Cordoba, Argentina, on November 26-27, 2012 of the leadership group of RedeAmericas, one of five NIMH-funded hubs for international mental health services research. Each hub serves as a center for multidisciplinary activities across a specific region. RedeAmericas research focuses on the mental health treatment gap in six Latin American cities – Rio de Janeiro, Medellin, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Neuquén and Cordoba. The Cordoba meeting brought together more than 40 people from all six sites. Discussions focused on planning for a multi-site randomized trial of Critical Time Intervention-Task Shifting (CTI-TS), an adaptation of CTI that engages qualified workers and peer-mentors to assume community oriented tasks from health and mental health units, and to provide these services in the community. The planning meeting preceded the 2012 Latin American Public Health Conference at which RedeAmericas investigators played a key role, including a presentation by Dr. Ruben Alvarado of the University of Chile in Santiago about CTI-TS.