scholarly journals Smart Indigenous Youth: The Smart Platform Policy Solution for Systems Integration to Address Indigenous Youth Mental Health

10.2196/21155 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e21155
Author(s):  
Tarun Reddy Katapally
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Indigenous Youth ◽  
School Curricula

Indigenous youth mental health is an urgent public health issue, which cannot be addressed with a one-size-fits-all approach. The success of health policies in Indigenous communities is dependent on bottom-up, culturally appropriate, and strengths-based prevention strategies. In order to maximize the effectiveness of these strategies, they need to be embedded in replicable and contextually relevant mechanisms such as school curricula across multiple communities. Moreover, to engage youth in the twenty-first century, especially in rural and remote areas, it is imperative to leverage ubiquitous mobile tools that empower Indigenous youth and facilitate novel Two-Eyed Seeing solutions. Smart Indigenous Youth is a 5-year community trial, which aims to improve Indigenous youth mental health by embedding a culturally appropriate digital health initiative into school curricula in rural and remote Indigenous communities in Canada. This policy analysis explores the benefits of such upstream initiatives. More importantly, this article describes evidence-based strategies to overcome barriers to implementation through the integration of citizen science and community-based participatory research action.

scholarly journals Smart Indigenous Youth: The Smart Platform Policy Solution for Systems Integration to Address Indigenous Youth Mental Health (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarun Reddy Katapally
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Indigenous Youth ◽  
School Curricula

UNSTRUCTURED Indigenous youth mental health is an urgent public health issue, which cannot be addressed with a one-size-fits-all approach. The success of health policies in Indigenous communities is dependent on bottom-up, culturally appropriate, and strengths-based prevention strategies. In order to maximize the effectiveness of these strategies, they need to be embedded in replicable and contextually relevant mechanisms such as school curricula across multiple communities. Moreover, to engage youth in the twenty-first century, especially in rural and remote areas, it is imperative to leverage ubiquitous mobile tools that empower Indigenous youth and facilitate novel Two-Eyed Seeing solutions. Smart Indigenous Youth is a 5-year community trial, which aims to improve Indigenous youth mental health by embedding a culturally appropriate digital health initiative into school curricula in rural and remote Indigenous communities in Canada. This policy analysis explores the benefits of such upstream initiatives. More importantly, this article describes evidence-based strategies to overcome barriers to implementation through the integration of citizen science and community-based participatory research action.

scholarly journals O007 Sleep health promotion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: untapped potential of Indigenous youth workers as sleep coaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A4-A4
Author(s):  
S Jabran ◽  
S Smith ◽  
Y Fatima ◽  
S King
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Sleep Health ◽  
Indigenous Youth ◽  
Sleep Education ◽  
Training Activities ◽  
And Training

Abstract Purpose The lack of culturally appropriate sleep health programs and community-led support services are significant barriers to sleep health promotion in Indigenous communities. This project offers Australia’s first-ever training and upskilling program for Indigenous youth workers (IYWs) to work as “Sleep Coaches” in Indigenous communities. Methods Key stakeholders, i.e., community elders, service providers, Indigenous youth and sleep scientists, were consulted to develop a training program for IYWs. Stakeholder consultations ensured community ownership of the program, facilitated co-design of educational and training activities, and integrated traditional and scientific sleep health knowledge for developing sleep health resources. Results Consultations with the advisory group (n=48) identified the need for a multipronged approach for IYWs capacity building. The education and training activities are centred around sleep and include cultural training to cover Indigenous Australians’ understanding and interpretation of sleep health, youth mental health first aid training, and participation in youth alcohol and drug education workshops. For sleep education, two blocks of activities, i.e., foundation and advanced level, are offered to cover triaging, sleep education/support and monitoring. An interactive tool for diabetes education in Indigenous communities (FeltMan/FeltMum) has been adapted to offer culturally appropriate sleep education. Conclusion IYWs’ capacity building as sleep coaches is an innovative way to empower Indigenous communities to embrace sleep health. Going forward, the program will engage with youth mental health services to evaluate the program effectiveness and transferability to other Indigenous communities. There is a need to define the scope of practice and certification to ensure compliance with industry standards.

scholarly journals The Impact of Culture, Identity and Intergenerational Connections on Indigenous Youth Mental Health: Qualitative Findings from a Longitudinal Digital Health Community Trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susannah Walker ◽  
Prasanna Kannan ◽  
Jasmin Bhawra ◽  
Heather Foulds ◽  
Tarun Reddy Katapally
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Active Living ◽  
Indigenous Youth ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Indigenous youth in settler nations are susceptible to poor mental health due to complex inter-generational systemic inequities. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of a culturally-responsive, land-based, active living initiative on the mental health of Indigenous youth. Methods: This study is part of Smart Indigenous Youth (SIY), a mixed-methods 5-year longitudinal digital citizen science initiative. SIY embeds culturally-responsive, landbased active living programs into the curricula of high schools in rural Indigenous communities in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan. In year-1 (Winter 2019), 76 Indigenous youth citizen scientists (13-18 years) from 2 schools participated in the study. At the beginning of the term, each school initiated separate 4-month landbased active living programs specific to their culture, community, geography, and language (Cree and Saulteaux). Before and after the term, focus groups were conducted with the 2 Youth Citizen Scientist Councils, which includes students from both participating schools. This study includes data from focus groups of one participating school, with 11 youth citizen scientists (5 boys, 6 girls). Focus group data were transcribed and analyzed by two independent reviewers using Nvivo to identify themes and subthemes. Both reviewers discussed their thematic analysis to come to a consensus about final findings. Results: Baseline focus group analyses revealed themes demonstrating the importance of Indigenous culture, identity, history, and language. Youth emphasized the impact of loss of language and culture, the importance of being a helper, and the necessity of intergenerational knowledge transfer. Follow-up focus group analyses indicated that cultural school programming led to students expressing positive mental health benefits, increased interest in ceremonies, increased participation in physical activity, and greater knowledge of culture, identity, and ceremonial protocol. Conclusions: Land-based active living can play a critical role in improving Indigenous youth mental health. This study highlights the importance of linking active living with culture and the potential of leveraging citizen-owned ubiquitous tools in implementing interventions in rural communities. Digital citizen science shows promise for supporting Indigenous youth mental health initiatives.

scholarly journals Implementing a digital health model of care in Australian youth mental health services: protocol for impact evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Piper ◽  
Tracey A. Davenport ◽  
Haley LaMonica ◽  
Antonia Ottavio ◽  
Frank Iorfino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Model Of Care ◽  
Health Service Provision ◽  
Industrial Grade ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The World Economic Forum has recently highlighted substantial problems in mental health service provision and called for the rapid deployment of smarter, digitally-enhanced health services as a means to facilitate effective care coordination and address issues of demand. In mental health, the biggest enabler of digital solutions is the implementation of an effective model of care that is facilitated by integrated health information technologies (HITs); the latter ensuring the solution is easily accessible, scalable and sustainable. The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre (BMC) has developed an innovative digital health solution – delivered through the Youth Mental Health and Technology Program – which incorporates two components: 1) a highly personalised and measurement-based (data-driven) model of youth mental health care; and 2) an industrial grade HIT registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. This paper describes a research protocol to evaluate the impact of implementing the BMC’s digital health solution into youth mental health services (i.e. headspace - a highly accessible, youth-friendly integrated service that responds to the mental health, physical health, alcohol or other substance use, and vocational concerns of young people aged 12 to 25 years) within urban and regional areas of Australia. Methods The digital health solution will be implemented into participating headspace centres using a naturalistic research design. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected from headspace health professionals, service managers and administrators, as well as from lead agency and local Primary Health Network (PHN) staff, via service audits, Implementation Officer logs, online surveys, and semi-structured interviews, at baseline and then three-monthly intervals over the course of 12 months. Discussion At the time of publication, six headspace centres had been recruited to this study and had commenced implementation and impact evaluation. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2021. This study will focus on the impact of implementing a digital health solution at both a service and staff level, and will evaluate digital readiness of service and staff adoption; quality, usability and acceptability of the solution by staff; staff self-reported clinical competency; overall impact on headspace centres as well as their lead agencies and local PHNs; and social return on investment.

Telemedicine for rural and remote child and youth mental health services

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 76-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ven-Nice Ryan ◽  
Stephen Stathis ◽  
Anthony C Smith ◽  
Denisse Best ◽  
Richard Wootton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Rural And Remote

scholarly journals Demographic and Clinical Presentations of Youth using Enhanced Mental Health Services in Six Indigenous Communities from the ACCESS Open Minds Network

2021 ◽  
pp. 070674372110554
Author(s):  
Patricia Boksa ◽  
Daphne Hutt-MacLeod ◽  
Lacey Clair ◽  
Gregory Brass ◽  
Shirley Bighead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts ◽  
The People ◽  
Clinical Presentations ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors

Objective In many Indigenous communities, youth mental health services are inadequate. Six Indigenous communities participating in the ACCESS Open Minds (AOM) network implemented strategies to transform their youth mental health services. This report documents the demographic and clinical presentations of youth accessing AOM services at these Indigenous sites. Methods Four First Nations and two Inuit communities contributed to this study. Youth presenting for mental health services responded to a customized sociodemographic questionnaire and presenting concerns checklist, and scales assessing distress, self-rated health and mental health, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Results Combined data from the First Nations sites indicated that youth across the range of 11–29 years accessed services. More girls/women than boys/men accessed services; 17% identified as LBGTQ+. Most (83%) youth indicated having access to at least one reliable adult and getting along well with the people living with them. Twenty-five percent of youth reported difficulty meeting basic expenses. Kessler (K10) distress scores indicated that half likely had a moderate mental health problem and a fourth had severe problems. Fifty-five percent of youth rated their mental health as fair or poor, while 50% reported suicidal thoughts in the last month. Anxiety, stress, depression and sleep issues were the most common presenting problems. Fifty-one percent of youth either accessed services themselves or were referred by family members. AOM was the first mental health service accessed that year for 68% of youth. Conclusions This report is the first to present a demographic and clinical portrait of youth presenting at mental health services in multiple Indigenous settings in Canada. It illustrates the acceptability and feasibility of transforming youth mental health services using core principles tailored to meet communities’ unique needs, resources, and cultures, and evaluating these using a common protocol. Data obtained can be valuable in evaluating services and guiding future service design. Trial registration name and number at Clinicaltrials.gov: ACCESS Open Minds/ACCESS Esprits ouverts, ISRCTN23349893

scholarly journals Flip the Clinic: A Digital Health Approach to Youth Mental Health Service Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey A Davenport ◽  
Vanessa Wan Sze Cheng ◽  
Frank Iorfino ◽  
Blake Hamilton ◽  
Eva Castaldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Model Of Care ◽  
Mental Health Service Delivery

UNSTRUCTURED The demand for mental health services is projected to rapidly increase as a direct and indirect result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that young people are disproportionately disadvantaged by mental illness and will face further challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to deliver appropriate mental health care to young people as early as possible. Integrating digital health solutions into mental health service delivery pathways has the potential to greatly increase efficiencies, enabling the provision of “right care, first time.” We propose an innovative digital health solution for demand management intended for use by primary youth mental health services, comprised of (1) a youth mental health model of care (ie, the Brain and Mind Centre Youth Model) and (2) a health information technology specifically designed to deliver this model of care (eg, the InnoWell Platform). We also propose an operational protocol of how this solution could be applied to primary youth mental health service delivery processes. By “flipping” the conventional service delivery models of majority in-clinic and minority web-delivered care to a model where web-delivered care is the default, this digital health solution offers a scalable way of delivering quality youth mental health care both in response to public health crises (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) and on an ongoing basis in the future.

scholarly journals Supporting Clinicians to Use Technology to Deliver Highly Personalized and Measurement-Based Mental Health Care to Young People: Protocol for an Evaluation Study

10.2196/24697 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e24697
Author(s):  
Henriette C Dohnt ◽  
Mitchell J Dowling ◽  
Tracey A Davenport ◽  
Grace Lee ◽  
Shane P Cross ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
And Training

Background Australia’s mental health care system has long been fragmented and under-resourced, with services falling well short of demand. In response, the World Economic Forum has recently called for the rapid deployment of smarter, digitally enhanced health services to facilitate effective care coordination and address issues of demand. The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre (BMC) has developed an innovative digital health solution that incorporates 2 components: a highly personalized and measurement-based (data-driven) model of youth mental health care and a health information technology (HIT) registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. Importantly, research into implementation of such solutions considers education and training of clinicians to be essential to adoption and optimization of use in standard clinical practice. The BMC’s Youth Mental Health and Technology Program has subsequently developed a comprehensive education and training program to accompany implementation of the digital health solution. Objective This paper describes the protocol for an evaluation study to assess the effectiveness of the education and training program on the adoption and optimization of use of the digital health solution in service delivery. It also describes the proposed tools to assess the impact of training on knowledge and skills of mental health clinicians. Methods The evaluation study will use the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model as a framework with 4 levels of analysis: Reaction (to education and training), Learning (knowledge acquired), Behavior (practice change), and Results (client outcomes). Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected using a variety of tools, including evaluation forms, pre- and postknowledge questionnaires, skill development and behavior change scales, as well as a real-time clinical practice audit. Results This project is funded by philanthropic funding from Future Generation Global. Ethics approval has been granted via Sydney Local Health District’s Human Research Ethics Committee. At the time of this publication, clinicians and their services were being recruited to this study. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2021. Conclusions The education and training program teaches clinicians the necessary knowledge and skills to assess, monitor, and manage complex needs; mood and psychotic syndromes; and trajectories of youth mental ill-health using a HIT that facilitates a highly personalized and measurement-based model of care. The digital health solution may therefore guide clinicians to help young people recover low functioning associated with subthreshold diagnostic presentations and prevent progression to more serious mental ill-health. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/24697

scholarly journals Supporting Clinicians to Use Technology to Deliver Highly Personalized and Measurement-Based Mental Health Care to Young People: Protocol for an Evaluation Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henriette C Dohnt ◽  
Mitchell J Dowling ◽  
Tracey A Davenport ◽  
Grace Lee ◽  
Shane P Cross ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
And Training

BACKGROUND Australia’s mental health care system has long been fragmented and under-resourced, with services falling well short of demand. In response, the World Economic Forum has recently called for the rapid deployment of smarter, digitally enhanced health services to facilitate effective care coordination and address issues of demand. The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre (BMC) has developed an innovative digital health solution that incorporates 2 components: a highly personalized and measurement-based (data-driven) model of youth mental health care and a health information technology (HIT) registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. Importantly, research into implementation of such solutions considers education and training of clinicians to be essential to adoption and optimization of use in standard clinical practice. The BMC’s Youth Mental Health and Technology Program has subsequently developed a comprehensive education and training program to accompany implementation of the digital health solution. OBJECTIVE This paper describes the protocol for an evaluation study to assess the effectiveness of the education and training program on the adoption and optimization of use of the digital health solution in service delivery. It also describes the proposed tools to assess the impact of training on knowledge and skills of mental health clinicians. METHODS The evaluation study will use the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model as a framework with 4 levels of analysis: Reaction (to education and training), Learning (knowledge acquired), Behavior (practice change), and Results (client outcomes). Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected using a variety of tools, including evaluation forms, pre- and postknowledge questionnaires, skill development and behavior change scales, as well as a real-time clinical practice audit. RESULTS This project is funded by philanthropic funding from Future Generation Global. Ethics approval has been granted via Sydney Local Health District’s Human Research Ethics Committee. At the time of this publication, clinicians and their services were being recruited to this study. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2021. CONCLUSIONS The education and training program teaches clinicians the necessary knowledge and skills to assess, monitor, and manage complex needs; mood and psychotic syndromes; and trajectories of youth mental ill-health using a HIT that facilitates a highly personalized and measurement-based model of care. The digital health solution may therefore guide clinicians to help young people recover low functioning associated with subthreshold diagnostic presentations and prevent progression to more serious mental ill-health. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/24697

scholarly journals Indigenous Communities From Oaxaca, Mexico. Health Problems, Opportunities And Challenges In Public Health With Special Attention In Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 684-690
Author(s):  
Helda Pinzon-Perez ◽  
Leoncio Vásquez Santos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Advanced Practice ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Written Form

Objectives: To present an instrument in Mixtec, Zapotec, and Spanish to assess the mental health of indigenous Oaxacan communities from Mexico. To provide suggestions on how this instrument could be useful for indigenous communities in other Latin American regions. Methods: This manuscript includes a literature review of articles published in mental health among communities originating from Oaxaca, Mexico and presents the process followed in the development of a culturally appropriate mental health instrument. The instrument was created by a Spanish speaking Advanced Practice Nurse and translated by a university student public health worker and a professional nurse from Oaxaca, Mexico whose native languages are Mixtec and Zapotec. Results: A culturally appropriate instrument was developed to assess the mental health of people with Oaxacan origin. This instrument includes some questions related with Covid-19. It was translated into Spanish, Mixtec, and Zapotec. The Spanish version is available in the written form but the Mixtec and Zapotec versions are available only in the audio form since they are languages of oral tradition. Conclusions: The mental health needs of Oaxacan communities living in the United States and other parts of Latin America are pressing and even more in the domain of mental health. The mental health instrument here discussed is a contribution to the understanding and solution of the identified relevant problems.

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