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Natalie Johnson

Department of Clinical Research

Community-based pathways to behavioral health

I study how to expand equitable pathways to behavioral health in low-resource settings through scalable, community-based interventions. My work integrates implementation science, mixed methods, and field-based experimentation to develop and evaluate culturally responsive, task-shared, and digitally supported approaches to mental health promotion and care, particularly for young people. A growing area of my research examines how social and environmental contexts, including experiences with nature, may influence well-being, nature connection, and health-related behavior.

Selected Publications

Johnson, N. E., Carney, T., Chiyokoma, B., Johnson, K., Nyandoro, T. Y., Izaks, L., Basera, M., Choka, N., Madzeke, K., Falgas-Bague, I., Menon, J. A., & Belus, J. M. (2026). Pathways to resilience: a qualitative study and intervention framework among adolescents and young adults who use substances in Southern Africa [Journal-article]. The Lancet Regional Health - Africa. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanafr.2026.100043

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Johnson, Natalie E., Falgas-Bague, Irene, Chammartin, Frédérique, Gerber, Felix, Lee, Tristan T., Gupta, Ravi, Mjadu, Relebohile, Nthunya, Jonase, Mokebe, Moleboheng, Makabateng, Retsélisitsoe, Sematle, Mamoronts’ane P., Letsoela, Pearl, Labhardt, Niklaus D., Amstutz, Alain, & Belus, Jennifer M. (2025). Mental health and substance use problems among adolescents in Lesotho: Prevalence, access to care, and association with lifestyle factors. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 35(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.70062

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Johnson, Natalie E, Malimabe, Makamohelo, Yoon, Grace H, Osborn, Tom L, Falgas-Bague, Irene, & Swahn, Monica H. (2025). Integration of local realities to address mental health in Africa. Lancet Psychiatry, 12, 399–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(25)00005-7

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Johnson, Natalie E., Venturo-Conerly, Katherine E., & Rusch, Thomas. (2023). Using wearable activity trackers for research in the global south: Lessons learned from adolescent psychotherapy research in Kenya [Journal-article]. Global Mental Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2023.85

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Johnson, Natalie E., Nerima, Daisy, Kahura, Ngina, & Osborn, Tom L. (2023). Psychometric properties of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II among Kenyan adolescents [Journal-article]. Frontiers in Sociology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1189915

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Selected Projects & Collaborations

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PEGISUS: Peer Education for Gender Inclusion and Substance Use in Southern Africa

Research Project  | 5 Project Members

Adolescents and young adults in sub-Saharan Africa are facing increasing threats to health and overall quality of life.This project seeks to address adolescent and young adult well-being by simultaneously tackling alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, inequitable gender beliefs, and high rates of unemployment in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Specifically, this project aims to develop and test a brief, behavioral intervention to reduce problem AOD use and gender inequitable beliefs, which will be delivered to adolescent and young adult peer groups and embedded within existing vocational training programs. The study will also assess vocational training program characteristics that may facilitate or hinder scaling up of the proposed intervention, should it be successful. This study is conducted in collaboration with the University of Zambia, SolidarMed Zambia and Zimbabwe, and the South African Medical Research Council. The study is funded through the Solution-oriented Research for Development Programme, which is jointly funded by SNSF and SDC (Grant no. 400440_213259).