Alethea Desrosiers
· Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research)VerifiedBrown University · Behavioral and Social Sciences
Active 2006–2026
About
Dr. Alethea Desrosiers is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University. Her research focuses on promoting global mental health, with particular emphasis on underserved youth and families. She employs implementation science to enhance the quality and accessibility of mental health interventions in settings with limited resources, utilizing tools such as human-centered design, task-sharing strategies, and digital innovations. Her projects span multiple countries in the Global South, including Sierra Leone, Colombia, and Ecuador. Dr. Desrosiers is also a faculty member in the Brown Research on Implementation and Dissemination to Guide Evidence Use (BRIDGE) Program and the Center for Global Health Equity. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University and completed a T32 postdoctoral fellowship in Substance Abuse Prevention Research at Yale School of Medicine.
Research signals
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Research topics
- Political Science
- Psychiatry
- Medicine
- Sociology
- Environmental health
- Nursing
- Socioeconomics
- Internal medicine
- Virology
- Law
- Family medicine
- Medical education
- Psychology
Selected publications
SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01
preprintOpen accessSenior authorCambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingAbstract Approximately three million Venezuelan migrants (VMs) currently reside in Colombia. Many are in need of mental health services but face significant difficulties accessing services. To improve service access and engagement, we culturally adapted and pilot tested an evidence-based mental health intervention integrated within entrepreneurship training in a community setting for VM youth in Colombia. Using participatory research and qualitative methods approaches, we explored the program’s acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility. We recruited and enrolled 67 VM youth (aged 18–30) living in Bogotá, Colombia, who participated in piloting the intervention. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a subset of these participants ( n = 16) at post-intervention to explore the intervention’s acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility. Two bilingual research assistants analyzed qualitative data using thematic network analysis. Findings suggested that VM youth viewed the integrated intervention as acceptable and appropriate, noting that it was helpful to have a “safe space” to discuss difficult emotions. They also noted challenges to engaging in the intervention, including transportation time and balancing other life responsibilities with intervention participation. Findings point to the importance of engaging community member participants in the adaptation and testing process of mental health interventions to increase intervention fit with the target population.
2025-03-21
peer-reviewOpen access1st authorCorrespondingApproximately three million Venezuelan migrants (VMs) currently reside in Colombia. Many are in need of mental health services but face significant difficulties accessing services. To improve service access and engagement, we culturally adapted and pilot tested an evidence-based mental health intervention integrated within entrepreneurship training in a community setting for VM youth in Colombia. Using participatory research and qualitative methods approaches, we explored the program’s acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility. We recruited and enrolled 67 VM youth (aged 18–30) living in Bogotá, Colombia, who participated in piloting the intervention. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a subset of these participants (n = 16) at post-intervention to explore the intervention’s acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility. Two bilingual research assistants analyzed qualitative data using thematic network analysis. Findings suggested that VM youth viewed the integrated intervention as acceptable and appropriate, noting that it was helpful to have a “safe space” to discuss difficult emotions. They also noted challenges to engaging in the intervention, including transportation time and balancing other life responsibilities with intervention participation. Findings point to the importance of engaging community member participants in the adaptation and testing process of mental health interventions to increase intervention fit with the target population.
Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · 2025-01-01
articleOpen accessSenior authorMobile health (mHealth) platforms have the potential to increase access to evidence-based interventions in low-resource settings. This study applied a user-centered design (UCD) approach to develop and evaluate an mHealth supervision tool for community health workers (CHWs) delivering an early childhood development intervention in rural Sierra Leone. We engaged CHWs (N=8) and supervisors (N=4) in focus group discussions, user testing sessions and exit interviews to gather feedback on the mHealth supervision tool's usability and acceptability. Mixed methods findings indicated that the tool was generally well-received and perceived as easy to use, but there were also challenges related to connectivity, phone charging and the need for more comprehensive training and support. Overall, this study suggests that a UCD approach can promote the usability of mHealth tools to support CHWs in delivering evidence-based interventions in low-resource settings, highlighting the importance of addressing contextual challenges and providing adequate training and support to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of such tools.
Public Health · 2025-12-08
articleOpen accessOBJECTIVES: To assess the acceptability, feasibility and preliminary impacts of a group-based financial literacy and reproductive health intervention adapted for indigenous youth in Ecuador. STUDY DESIGN: Mixed-methods quasi-experimental pilot study. METHODS: This study (November 2023-June 2024) enrolled 47 adolescents, ages 15-19, from Cotacachi, Ecuador. Using the ADAPT-ITT framework, we adapted an existing entrepreneurship curriculum to the local context, and integrated curriculum with an existing reproductive health education platform. Twenty-nine adolescents received the school-based group intervention over 4 months, with 18 control participants. Qualitatively, focus groups elicited intervention acceptability from 11 youth. Quantitatively, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and MANOVA compared empowerment and health outcomes between intervention participants and controls. Adjusted linear and logistic regression estimated intention-to-treat effects of the intervention on outcomes. RESULTS: The study recruited 96.7 % and 60.0 % of the target sample for the intervention (29/30) and control (18/30) conditions, respectively. Regression results showed positive associations between the intervention and financial literacy (β = 1.33, p < 0.01) and sexual health knowledge (β = 1.52, p < 0.01), and modest positive associations (p > 0.10) with entrepreneurial self-efficacy, engagement in income-generating activities, gender empowerment, and less-frequent penetrative sex. All focus group participants valued the financial management and entrepreneurship components of the intervention; most stated that the curriculum improved their decision-making around sex and relationships. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot evidence supports acceptability and potential benefits of an economic empowerment and reproductive health intervention for indigenous youth at high risk of pregnancy in Ecuador. A randomized trial is needed to test the effectiveness of the intervention on longer-term income generation and pregnancy reduction.
Depression in adolescents on treatment for rifampicin-susceptible TB in Lima, Peru
IJTLD OPEN · 2025-11-01
articleOpen accessBACKGROUND: At least 1 million adolescents develop TB disease annually. Adolescents are also at risk for depression due to TB, but this is poorly understood. METHODS: This prospective cohort study aimed to identify the frequency and risk factors for depression amongst adolescents with rifampicin-susceptible TB in Lima, Peru. During weeks 3-5 of treatment, participants completed a survey that included socio-demographic characteristics, symptoms, treatment side effects, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 depression scale. Those with depression received psychological evaluation and were referred for treatment, with treatment intensity corresponding to depression severity. Applying k-means cluster analysis, we grouped participants by socio-demographic characteristics. We used generalised linear mixed-effects regression to model the relationship between cluster, symptoms and side effects, and depression. RESULTS: Of 249 participants, 98 (39%), 62 (25%), and 33 (13%) had mild, moderate, and severe depression, respectively. We identified three clusters; Cluster 1 - adolescents with lower social support and more prior trauma - had the highest frequency of depression. Across all clusters, symptoms and side effects correlated with depression. CONCLUSION: Given their high frequency of depression, adolescents on TB treatment - particularly those with trauma history, weak social support, or numerous symptoms and side effects - should be routinely screened for depression.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2025-05-28
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingThis study explored potential indirect mental health benefits of the Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI) among peers and caregivers of YRI participants and control participants via a networks psychometrics approach. We recruited and enrolled index participants who participated in an implementation trial in Sierra Leone (N = 165 control index participants; N = 165 YRI index participants). Index participants nominated three of their closest peers (N = 879) and one cohabitating caregiver (N = 284) to complete quantitative assessments on mental health and functioning. We used network psychometrics to explore patterns of association between mental health outcomes and risk/protective factors among YRI participants' peers and caregivers and those of non-participants. Models of network structures showed several strong associations between mental health symptoms and risk/protective factors. There was a strong association between higher social support and positive coping skills. Additionally, models reflected stronger associations between higher depression symptoms and worse emotion regulation for peers of non-participants only. For caregivers of non-participants, a higher burden of care was strongly associated with worse emotion regulation, which was associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety. On a broader scale, the findings may provide support for wider societal benefits that evidence-based mental health interventions can offer in resource-constrained settings.
Conflict and Health · 2025-07-31
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingBACKGROUND: In Colombia, ~ 9 million youth and families have been negatively affected by decades of conflict and displacement, and ~ 2.9 million Venezuelans have migrated to Colombia. Many have experienced mental health issues in addition to socio-economic problems, but significant gaps remain in mental health service provision. We conducted a pilot-feasibility study of a culturally adapted mental health intervention integrated within entrepreneurship training for displaced Venezuelan and Colombian youth in Bogota, Colombia. METHODS: We recruited and enrolled 296 youth (52% Colombian; 71% female) aged 18-30 residing in Bogota with histories of displacement. Youth were randomized to a 2-week (10-day) integrated mental health and entrepreneurship program or to a waitlist control. Qualitative data on feasibility, acceptability and appropriateness was collected via exit interviews with a subset of youth (N = 24) and facilitators (N = 10). Quantitative data on mental health outcomes was collected at baseline, post-intervention and 6-month follow-up. Qualitative data was analyzed using an open-coding process. Quantitative data was analyzed using linear mixed effects models focusing on intent-to-treat impacts. RESULTS: Qualitative findings suggested that participants were highly satisfied with the intervention, but they faced challenges with participation, including difficulties with transportation, childcare, and work schedules. Mixed effects models showed no significant differences on mental health outcomes between intervention participants compared with controls. CONCLUSION: Venezuelan and Colombian youth with histories of displacement perceived the integrated intervention as acceptable and beneficial, but attending the 10-day program was challenging. Future implementation efforts should consider hybrid formats or adjusting delivery pacing to better fit the daily lives of displaced youth. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY: NCT05857722.
2025-03-13
peer-reviewOpen access1st authorCorrespondingMobile health (mHealth) platforms have the potential to increase access to evidence-based interventions in low-resource settings. This study applied a user-centered design (UCD) approach to develop and evaluate an mHealth supervision tool for community health workers (CHWs) delivering an early childhood development intervention in rural Sierra Leone. We engaged CHWs (N=8) and supervisors (N=4) in focus group discussions, user testing sessions and exit interviews to gather feedback on the mHealth supervision tool’s usability and acceptability. Mixed methods findings indicated that the tool was generally well-received and perceived as easy to use, but there were also challenges related to connectivity, phone charging and the need for more comprehensive training and support. Overall, this study suggests that a UCD approach can promote the usability of mHealth tools to support CHWs in delivering evidence-based interventions in low-resource settings, highlighting the importance of addressing contextual challenges and providing adequate training and support to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of such tools.
Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations
erratumOpen access1st authorCorresponding[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1017/gmh.2025.10011.].
Frequent coauthors
- 44 shared
Theresa S. Betancourt
Boston College
- 23 shared
Nathan B. Hansen
University of Georgia
- 22 shared
Tamora A. Callands
University of Georgia
- 22 shared
Cara M. Antonaccio
Brown University
- 22 shared
Jordan Farrar
Institute for Family Health
- 21 shared
Robert T. Brennan
Brandeis University
- 18 shared
Joseph Benjamin Bangura
Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre
- 17 shared
Ryan C. Borg
Boston College
Education
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Columbia University
Other, Substance Abuse Prevention Research
Yale School of Medicine
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