Addressing Mental Health Disparities in Refugee Children Through Family and Community-Based Prevention

Author(s):  
Theresa S. Betancourt ◽  
Rochelle L. Frounfelker ◽  
Jenna M. Berent ◽  
Bhuwan Gautam ◽  
Saida Abdi ◽  
...  

This chapter presents an overview of a family-based intervention program and the impact it has on outcomes of parent-child relationships, family functioning, and child mental health among Bhutanese and Somali Bantu refugees in New England. The program uses a Community Based Participatory Research approach, emphasizing strong community engagement, support from community advisory boards, and the use of refugee community health workers to implement the home-visiting Family Strengthening Intervention (FSI). The FSI uses a strengths-based approach to focus on prevention, resilience, and overcoming barriers, while improving linkages to important community resources. The program is currently in its pilot phase (n=80 families) and preparing for scaling-up (n=300 families) with adaptations based on preliminary findings and lessons learned. A mixed-methods design is used to assess the effectiveness of the FSI and inform next stages of the research. This chapter presents preliminary findings of formative work and from the pilot phase of the program.

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110127
Author(s):  
Sandra Yaklin ◽  
Miyong Kim ◽  
Jacklyn Hecht

Using a narrative approach, this study explored how African American men became mental health advocates. This ancillary study is part of a formative within an ongoing community based intervention program that was designed to promote mental health of African Americans (AMEN) project within an ongoing community based intervention program that was designed to promote mental health of African Americans (AMEN) project. Narrative research techniques were used to analyze and synthesize the data. Analysis generated one major theme (interdependence) with four supporting sub-themes (credibility, social depression, stigma, and calling). These findings and insights through this qualitative study guided the AMEN project team to formulate effective communication strategies in establishing working relationships with community partners and wider stakeholders as well as crafting culturally tailored messages for African American participants.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 781-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn M. Tucker ◽  
Jaime L. Williams ◽  
Julia Roncoroni ◽  
Martin Heesacker

Significant health disparities continue to plague many groups of people who have been systematically oppressed and largely unrepresented in health research. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative research approach that has been shown to be effective in addressing health disparities; a community–university partnership approach can be used to conduct this research. Counseling psychologists are well suited to establish and lead CBPR partnerships, yet there is a paucity of research to guide them in utilizing effective leadership approaches when conducting CBPR for reducing health disparities. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to (a) review existing leadership models applicable to conducting CBPR; (b) identify guiding principles of socially just leadership that emerged from the aforementioned review; (c) offer an example of how the guiding principles were used in a community–university partnership, highlighting challenges, solutions, and lessons learned; and (d) discuss the benefits of socially just leadership for counseling psychologists.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Tol ◽  
M. C. Greene ◽  
M. E. Lasater ◽  
K. Le Roch ◽  
C. Bizouerne ◽  
...  

Abstract Aims Observational studies have shown a relationship between maternal mental health (MMH) and child development, but few studies have evaluated whether MMH interventions improve child-related outcomes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this review is to synthesise findings on the effectiveness of MMH interventions to improve child-related outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods We searched for randomised controlled trials conducted in LMICs evaluating interventions with a MMH component and reporting children's outcomes. Meta-analysis was performed on outcomes included in at least two trials. Results We identified 21 trials with 28 284 mother–child dyads. Most trials were conducted in middle-income countries, evaluating home visiting interventions delivered by general health workers, starting in the third trimester of pregnancy. Only ten trials described acceptable methods for blinding outcome assessors. Four trials showed high risk of bias in at least two of the seven domains assessed in this review. Narrative synthesis showed promising but inconclusive findings for child-related outcomes. Meta-analysis identified a sizeable impact of interventions on exclusive breastfeeding (risk ratio = 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13–1.71, ten trials, N = 4749 mother–child dyads, I2 = 61%) and a small effect on child height-for-age at 6-months (std. mean difference = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.02–0.24, three trials, N = 1388, I2 = 0%). Meta-analyses did not identify intervention benefits for child cognitive and other growth outcomes; however, few trials measured these outcomes. Conclusions These findings support the importance of MMH to improve child-related outcomes in LMICs, particularly exclusive breastfeeding. Given, the small number of trials and methodological limitations, more rigorous trials should be conducted.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Suniya S. Luthar ◽  
Ashley M. Ebbert ◽  
Nina L. Kumar

Abstract When children are exposed to serious life adversities, Ed Zigler believed that developmental scientists must expediently strive to illuminate the most critical directions for beneficial interventions. In this paper, we present a new study on risk and resilience on adolescents during COVID-19, bookended – in introductory and concluding discussions – by descriptions of programmatic work anchored in lessons learned from Zigler. The new study was conducted during the first two months of the pandemic, using a mixed-methods approach with a sample of over 2,000 students across five high schools. Overall, rates of clinically significant symptoms were generally lower as compared to norms documented in 2019. Multivariate regressions showed that the most robust, unique associations with teens’ distress were with feelings of stress around parents and support received from them. Open ended responses to three questions highlighted concerns about schoolwork and college, but equally, emphasized worries about families’ well-being, and positive outreach from school adults. The findings have recurred across subsequent school assessments, and strongly resonate with contemporary perspectives on resilience in science and policy. If serious distress is to be averted among youth under high stress, interventions must attend not just to the children's mental health but that of salient caregiving adults at home and school. The article concludes with some specific recommendations for community-based initiatives to address mental health through continued uncertainties of the pandemic.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna T. W. Chu ◽  
Alice Wan ◽  
Sunita M. Stewart ◽  
Kwok Tung Ng ◽  
Tai Hing Lam ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-69
Author(s):  
Melissa L Morgan-Consoli ◽  
Brian J Stevenson ◽  
Erika Noriega Pigg ◽  
Wendy Eichler Morrison ◽  
Kelley Hershman ◽  
...  

This paper describes a social justice informed, formative evaluation of a community-based intervention program in our community that paired marginalized Latinx youth and Holocaust survivor mentors. This program is a unique effort to address the issues facing this youth population through difficult dialogues and mentorship from a group who has clearly suffered oppression. Using a qualitative, community-based approach, eight program participants were interviewed to explore the aspects of the program that were helpful or challenging among youth mentees and survivor mentors. We reflect on the success of mentorship interventions in promoting bridges of understanding between populations with different combinations of power and privilege. Emergent themes from the evaluation suggest that this community-based mentorship program led to several positive outcomes, including increased openness to diversity, increased empathy, and increased potential meaning-making for mentor survivors, as well as some challenges such as clearer program expectations and program planning issues. Using a lens of Positive Youth Development and social justice, we detail the lessons learned from this mentoring program for future counselors and psychologists interested in program development and evaluation. We also provide reflections on the formative program evaluation process for future community-based researchers and the personal impact of the experience on the students in training. Finally, we reflect on impact validity and the systems level transformative change that can be promoted through community-based programs such as this one.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 473-474
Author(s):  
Maia Ingram ◽  
Aileen Wong ◽  
Rosie Piper ◽  
Sonia Colina ◽  
Scott Carvajal ◽  
...  

Abstract In behavioral intervention research, taking a community-based participatory research approach enhances recruitment and retention while facilitating the transfer of research findings into social change. Successes with recruitment and retention are secondary to enacting fundamental principles of trust, reciprocity, cultural humility, empowerment, and respect. This presentation will describe a longitudinal clinical trial in a Southwest borderlands community, Oyendo Bien. The study was co-developed and implemented with community partnership throughout the research process. Dyads were recruited to participate in a community-delivered group education and support program addressing hearing loss for Spanish-speakers age 50+ years (n=132 participants randomized). We highlight the critical role that community health workers (promotoras) held as members of the research team. Furthermore, we describe an innovative approach for language mediation that integrates and empowers community participation. This presentation will include examples of lessons learned from the community in collaborating to conduct research in a way that truly serves.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuha Elkugia ◽  
Mary E. Crocker ◽  
James W. Stout ◽  
Kaylin Bolt ◽  
Bryan J. Weiner ◽  
...  

The community health worker (CHW) asthma home-visiting model developed by Public Health-Seattle & King County (PHSKC) is an evidence-based approach proven to improve health outcomes and quality of life. In addition, it has been shown to be an effective and culturally appropriate approach to helping people with asthma understand the environmental and behavioral causes of uncontrolled asthma, while acquiring the skills they need to control their asthma. This paper describes the development and implementation of training curricula for CHWs and supervisors in the asthma home visiting program. To facilitate dissemination, this program took advantage of the current healthcare landscape in Washington State resulting from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approval of the 1115 Medicaid Waiver project. Key aspects of the training program development included: (1) Engagement: forming a Community Advisory Board with multiple stakeholders to help prioritize training content; (2) Curriculum Development: building the training on evidence-based home-visit protocols previously developed at PHSKC; (3) Implementation of the training program; (4) Evaluation of the training; and (5) Adaptation of the training based on lessons learned. We describe key factors in the training program's improvement including the use of a community-based participatory approach to engage stakeholders at multiple phases of the project and ensure regional adaption; combining in-person and online modules for delivery; and holding learning collaboratives for post-training and technical support. We also outline our training program evaluation plan and the planned evaluation of the home visit program which the trainees will deliver, both of which follow the RE-AIM framework. However, because the COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed training activities and prohibited the trainees from implementation of these CHW home visit practices, our evaluation is currently incomplete. Therefore, this case study provides insight into the adaptation of the training program, but not the delivery of the home visit program, the outcomes of which remain to be seen.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 1036-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Kyoon-Achan ◽  
Josée Lavoie ◽  
Kathi Avery Kinew ◽  
Wanda Phillips-Beck ◽  
Naser Ibrahim ◽  
...  

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) provides the opportunity to engage communities for sustainable change. We share a journey to transformation in our work with eight Manitoba First Nations seeking to improve the health of their communities and discuss lessons learned. The study used community-based participatory research approach for the conceptualization of the study, data collection, analysis, and knowledge translation. It was accomplished through a variety of methods, including qualitative interviews, administrative health data analyses, surveys, and case studies. Research relationships built on strong ethics and protocols to enhance mutual commitment to support community-driven transformation. Collaborative and respectful relationships are platforms for defining and strengthening community health care priorities. We further discuss how partnerships were forged to own and sustain innovations. This article contributes a blueprint for respectful CBPR. The outcome is a community-owned, widely recognized process that is sustainable while fulfilling researcher and funding obligations.


1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott W. Henggeler ◽  
Melisa D. Rowland ◽  
Susan G. Pickrel ◽  
Stacey L. Miller ◽  
Phillippe B. Cunningham ◽  
...  

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