Applying the Research Domain Criteria to Social Determinants of Community Mental Health in Low-Resource Settings: A Contextualized Framework with Insights from the TOPOWA Study

Abstract

There is increasing recognition of the importance of integrating social determinants of mental health (SDoMH) into research frameworks to better understand how socioeconomic and environmental stressors shape mental health outcomes, particularly in low-resource settings. This paper presents an innovative conceptual approach that combines the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) with a social determinants lens to explore the pathways linking social adversity to mental health challenges. Drawing on insights from the NIH-funded TOPOWA Study, which examines the effects of poverty and social disadvantage on young women’s mental health in urban Uganda, the approach integrates diverse data sources, including biomarkers, wearable sensors, and self-report surveys, to capture multilevel influences on mental health. This framework illustrates how RDoC can be adapted for community-based, context-sensitive research and supports the development of more targeted mental health interventions in low resource settings. By situating individual-level processes within broader structural conditions, the model contributes to a more nuanced understanding of mental health risk and resilience. While grounded in a specific study, the framework offers a scalable model for advancing mental health research and intervention in other low-resource or underserved contexts.