Global WACh

November 17, 2025

Dr. Anna Larsen receives NIH Research Scientist Development Award to develop a mobile health parenting support intervention aimed at improving father-child mental health in Kenya

Congratulations Dr. Anna Larsen (Acting Assistant Professor, UW Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences) for receiving a National Institute of Health Research Scientist Development Award to fund “Improving fathers’ mental health, parenting, and familial engagement through an mHealth intervention in Kenya.” This five-year award supports an intensive, mentored research career development experience contributing to Dr. Larsen’s path to become an independent researcher.

This study addresses high mental health burden among men in Africa and aims to identify mental health needs, parenting challenges, and preferences for mobile health (mHealth) approaches among Kenyan fathers in a mixed methods approach. Fathers play a pivotal role in early child health development with impact on mental, social, and financial well-being throughout a child’s lifespan. One in ten fathers experience severe mental health challenges due to the stressors of parenting. Fathers’ poor mental health adversely impacts their relationships with partners, parenting behaviors and families’ health and safety, yet mental health services for fathers are scarce.

The WHO’s Nurturing Care Framework prioritizes fathers’ parenting roles and calls for strategies to improve dyadic father-child mental health. Parenting interventions that support effective parenting knowledge, skills, and behaviors improve parent-child mental health outcomes, including in LMICs. Involving fathers strengthens and extends positive outcomes. Yet, most parenting programs solely engage mothers and prioritize mothers’ roles. Improving fathers’ mental health and parenting skills requires interventions tailored to fathers’ unique roles, needs, and preferences.

Leveraging the unique two-way Mobile WACh SMS platform that combines automated SMS messaging and dialogue with a health care provider (the foundation for multiple collaborative studies by Global WACh and Kenyan partners using mHealth technology), Dr. Larsen and collaborators from UW and Kenyatta National Hospital will co-develop the “BABAText” parenting intervention with input from fathers. This approach leverages principles from evidence-based parenting and mental health interventions that can improve father-child mental health and overall family well-being. The study team will evaluate acceptability, preliminary efficacy, and implementation barriers and facilitators to use the intervention.

Dr. Larsen will be supported by researchers from the UW and Kenyatta National Hospital:

Mentors

  • Dror Ben-Zeev (UW Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, BRiTE Center)
  • David Bukusi (Kenyatta National Hospital, University of Nairobi)
  • Brent Collett (UW Dept of Pediatrics)
  • Grace John-Stewart (UW Depts of Global Health, Epidemiology, Pediatrics)

Collaborators

  • John Kinuthia (Kenyatta National Hospital)
  • Jillian Pintye (UW Dept of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics)
  • Keshet Ronen (UW Dept of Global Health)
  • Anjuli Wagner (UW Dept of Global Health)