Research, monitoring and evaluation is an integral part of TPO Nepal’s care program and services. It has a separate research department consisting of a team of experienced national and international experts on psychosocial and mental health research. Our research studies range from formative studies to informed program development, to randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness of mental health and psychosocial services/interventions.

Over the past decade, TPO Nepal has operationalized the “IASC Guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings” in Nepal, supported to develop a “Minimum Care Standards for Victims of Human Trafficking”, developed “Care and Protection Guidelines for Children Associated with Armed Groups and Armed Forces”, and most recently has developed the national curriculum for the integration of mental health into primary health care.

TPO Nepal is a partner in various research consortia with leading international research groups. These are Program for Improving Mental Health Care in Low and Middle Income Countries (PRIME; DFID funded program to scale-up evidence-based mental health care; http://www.prime.uct.ac.za ), Emerging mental health systems in low- and middle-income countries  (EMERALD; EU funded program to strengthen emerging mental health systems in low and middle income countries; http://www.emerald-project.eu/), Mental Health Beyond Facilities (Grand Challenges Canada funded program to pilot-test a community mental health care model for severe mental disorders); and Evaluating the locally adapted group PM+ intervention for adults in selected districts of Nepal (USAID/OFDA funded research program to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of program management plus intervention). Combining these programs work, it has strived towards developing, implementing and evaluating a process (the ‘how’) of integration of mental health into primary health care, for people with common and severe mental disorders. Over the past decade, TPO Nepal has published more than 70 articles in international peer reviewed journals.