An Academic-Government-Faith Partnership to Build Disaster Mental Health Preparedness and Community Resilience

Objectives. Faculty and affiliates of the Johns Hopkins Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center partnered with local health departments and faith-based organizations to develop a dual-intervention model of capacity-building for public mental health preparedness and community resilience. Project objectives included ( 1) determining the feasibility of the tri-partite collaborative concept; ( 2) designing, delivering, and evaluating psychological first aid (PFA) training and guided preparedness planning (GPP); and ( 3) documenting preliminary evidence of the sustainability and impact of the model. Methods. We evaluated intervention effectiveness by analyzing pre- and post-training changes in participant responses on knowledge-acquisition tests administered to three urban and four rural community cohorts. Changes in percent of correct items and mean total correct items were evaluated. Criteria for model sustainability and impact were, respectively, observations of non-academic partners engaging in efforts to advance post-project preparedness alliances, and project-attributable changes in preparedness-related practices of local or state governments. Results. The majority (11 of 14) test items addressing technical or practical PFA content showed significant improvement; we observed comparable testing results for GPP training. Government and faith partners developed ideas and tools for sustaining preparedness activities, and numerous project-driven changes in local and state government policies were documented. Conclusions. Results suggest that the model could be an effective approach to promoting public health preparedness and community resilience.

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Building a National Model of Public Mental Health Preparedness and Community Resilience: Validation of a Dual-Intervention, Systems-Based Approach

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2014.119 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 511-526 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

O. Lee McCabe ◽

Natalie L. Semon ◽

Carol B. Thompson ◽

Jeffrey M. Lating ◽

George S. Everly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

Emergency Preparedness ◽

Health Planning ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Community Resilience ◽

The United States ◽

Local Health ◽

Health Departments ◽

Preparedness Planning

AbstractObjectiveWorking within a series of partnerships among an academic health center, local health departments (LHDs), and faith-based organizations (FBOs), we validated companion interventions to address community mental health planning and response challenges in public health emergency preparedness.MethodsWe implemented the project within the framework of an enhanced logic model and employed a multi-cohort, pre-test/post-test design to assess the outcomes of 1-day workshops in psychological first aid (PFA) and guided preparedness planning (GPP). The workshops were delivered to urban and rural communities in eastern and midwestern regions of the United States. Intervention effectiveness was based on changes in relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) and on several behavioral indexes.ResultsSignificant improvements were observed in self-reported and objectively measured KSAs across all cohorts. Additionally, GPP teams proved capable of producing quality drafts of basic community disaster plans in 1 day, and PFA trainees confirmed upon follow-up that their training proved useful in real-world trauma contexts. We documented examples of policy and practice changes at the levels of local and state health departments.ConclusionsGiven appropriate guidance, LHDs and FBOs can implement an effective and potentially scalable model for promoting disaster mental health preparedness and community resilience, with implications for positive translational impact.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;8:511-526)

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Guided Preparedness Planning with Lay Communities: Enhancing Capacity of Rural Emergency Response Through a Systems-Based Partnership

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x12001483 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 8-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

O.Lee McCabe ◽

Charlene Perry ◽

Melissa Azur ◽

Henry G. Taylor ◽

Howard Gwon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health System ◽

Emergency Response ◽

Health Planning ◽

Psychological Trauma ◽

Local Health ◽

Disaster Mental Health ◽

Publication Type ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Preparedness Planning

AbstractIntroductionCommunity disaster preparedness plans, particularly those with content that would mitigate the effects of psychological trauma on vulnerable rural populations, are often nonexistent or underdeveloped. The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate a model of disaster mental health preparedness planning involving a partnership among three, key stakeholders in the public health system.MethodsA one-group, post-test, quasi-experimental design was used to assess outcomes as a function of an intervention designated Guided Preparedness Planning (GPP). The setting was the eastern-, northern-, and mid-shore region of the state of Maryland. Partner participants were four local health departments (LHDs), 100 faith-based organizations (FBOs), and one academic health center (AHC)—the latter, collaborating entities of the Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Health System. Individual participants were 178 community residents recruited from counties of the above-referenced geographic area. Effectiveness of GPP was based on post-intervention assessments of trainee knowledge, skills, and attitudes supportive of community disaster mental health planning. Inferences about the practicability (feasibility) of the model were drawn from pre-defined criteria for partner readiness, willingness, and ability to participate in the project. Additional aims of the study were to determine if LHD leaders would be willing and able to generate post-project strategies to perpetuate project-initiated government/faith planning alliances (sustainability), and to develop portable methods and materials to enhance model application and impact in other health jurisdictions (scalability).ResultsThe majority (95%) of the 178 lay citizens receiving the GPP intervention and submitting complete evaluations reported that planning-supportive objectives had been achieved. Moreover, all criteria for inferring model feasibility, sustainability, and scalability were met.ConclusionsWithin the span of a six-month period, LHDs, FBOs, and AHCs can work effectively to plan, implement, and evaluate what appears to be an effective, practical, and durable model of capacity building for public mental health emergency planning.McCabeOL, PerryC, AzurM, TaylorHG, GwonH, MosleyA, SemonN, LinksJM. Guided preparedness planning with lay communities: enhancing capacity of rural emergency response through a systems-based partnership. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;28(1):1-8.

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Kindness By Post: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of A Participatory Public Mental Health Project

10.1101/2021.11.19.21266589 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Congxiyu Wang ◽

Eiluned Pearce ◽

Rebecca Jones ◽

Brynmor Lloyd-Evans

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Service Evaluation ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Free Text ◽

Health Project

Background: Random acts of kindness can improve wellbeing. However, less is known about the impacts of giving and receiving acts of kindness with strangers on wellbeing and loneliness. Therefore, the study objectives were to evaluate a participatory public mental health project involving sending and receiving a card with goodwill messages, to understand how such acts of kindness influence wellbeing and loneliness, and to investigate the potential mechanisms underlying the impacts of the project. Materials and methods: This study was a secondary analysis of anonymised service evaluation data collected in the Kindness by Post (KBP) project in 2020. It used a mixed-methods single-group design and data from 289 participants. Changes in wellbeing, loneliness, sense of belonging and hope from baseline to follow-up were analysed using linear or multinomial logistic regression. Regression models also examined the associations between changes in wellbeing and baseline loneliness or participation level. Free text responses about experiences and suggestions for the project were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Participants had a small, but statistically significant improvement, in wellbeing equating to 0.21 standard deviations (SD) (95% CI: 0.12 to 0.30) after taking part in the project, as well as improvements in loneliness, sense of belonging and hope. How lonely a participant was at baseline and whether participants both sent and received a kindness card were not associated with improvements in wellbeing. In the qualitative analysis, a desire to help others emerged as the main motivator to take part in the card exchange. Participants reported enhanced personal fulfilment, leading to improvements in wellbeing. Receiving a card could make people feel special and cherished, which was reported to establish a sense of connection with others, with potential benefits for reducing loneliness. Conclusions: This study provided preliminary evidence that the KBP project might improve wellbeing, loneliness, sense of belonging and hope. Sending a kindness card in this project played a predominant role in wellbeing enhancement, and receiving a kindness card could reduce loneliness. This study suggests that the KBP project can be replicated in more contexts in the future, and might improve wellbeing and loneliness in large communities.

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‘Victoria on the Move’: Mental Health Services in a Decade of Transition 1992-2002

Australasian Psychiatry ◽

10.1046/j.1440-1665.2003.00508.x ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 62-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Graham Meadows ◽

Bruce Singh

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Services ◽

State Government ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Implementation Process ◽

Health Service Delivery ◽

Mental Health Service Delivery ◽

Health Strategy ◽

National Mental Health ◽

The Cost

Objective: Australia adopted a national mental health strategy in the early 1990s and each State has had to go through its own implementation process in the intervening years. The present paper describes the process of reform in services in Victoria, and ventures explanations as to why the process may have been more comprehensive and successful than in other States. Conclusions: Victoria adopted a Statewide ‘framework’, defining structural elements of area-based services, with rational resource distribution. A transitional process involving a population health approach and relatively rigid implementation of a tightly specified service framework, within a political environment that favoured strong health services management, was successful in achieving desired structural reforms in this State. This was undoubtedly at the cost of promoting a model of public mental health service delivery that is generally rationed so as to accept only a restricted range of types of referral. New initiatives from the current State government are explicitly targeted to correcting this situation.

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