Professor Arvin Bhana is an Honorary Professor at the Centre for Research in Health Systems, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Honorary Chief Research Specialist at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). He obtained his PhD in clinical/ community psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1984. He has extensive expertise in health systems strengthening for integrated primary health care and community health, with an emphasis on mental health care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Professor Bhana has been a registered clinical psychologist with the Professional Board of Psychology at the Health Professions Council of South Africa since 1982 and is rated as an internationally recognised scholar by the National Research Foundation (NRF). His history of employment includes Head of Psychology (UDW), Executive Director in the Human and Social Development cluster at the Human Sciences Research Council, and Chief Research Specialist in the Health Systems Research Unit at the SAMRC.

Professor Bhana is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSaF), the African Scientists Directory and various editorial and scientific committees and review boards, including the National Institutes of Health and the Research Council of Norway. He also serves as the chair of several academic rating panels for the NRF.

Professor Bhana’s research history has evolved around interventions, adapting and implementing various strategies, including randomised clinical trials, pragmatic trials, cohort studies, and implementation science designs. Earlier work fostered innovative parenting interventions to mitigate risk behaviours, including substance abuse among adolescents in the era of HIV/AIDS. A recognition of the limited impact of such interventions on broader health systems created the impetus for more direct attempts to influence the health system in integrating mental health into primary care. Learning collaboratives that promote sustainable implementation are a primary mechanism of change. Understanding the role of NCDs and their impact on mental health constitutes an important focus in developing holistic approaches to care.

An impetus for continuity of care at the community level focuses on early identification, health promotion, and self-care as the basis for linkage to primary health care using the Community Mental Health and Detection Tool (CMED). Work is underway in developing a similar tool for children and adolescents (CMED-C). The following projects (amongst others) serve to highlight Professor Bhana’s research trajectory: Collaborative HIV/AIDS and Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP), Programme for Improving Mental Health care (PRIME), Mental Health Integration (MhINT), Southern African Consortium for Research in Mental Health Integration (SMhINT). More recent work has focused on multiple long-term chronic conditions and mental health.