Community Members' Perceptions of a Resource-Rich Well-Being Website in California During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Thematic Analysis

BACKGROUND

To address needs for emotional well-being resources for Californians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Together for Wellness/Juntos por Nuestro Bienestar (T4W/Juntos) website was developed in collaboration with multiple community partners across California, funded by the California Department of Health Care Services Behavioral Health Division federal emergency response.

OBJECTIVE

This qualitative study was designed to explore and describe the perspectives of participants affiliated with California organizations on the T4W/Juntos website, understand their needs for web-based emotional health resources, and inform iterative website development.

METHODS

After providing informed consent and reviewing the website, telephone interviews were conducted with 29 participants (n=21, 72% in English and n=8, 28% in Spanish) recruited by partnering community agencies (October 2021-February 2022). A 6-phase thematic analysis was conducted, enhanced using grounded theory techniques. The investigators wrote reflexive memos and performed line-by-line coding of 12 transcripts. Comparative analyses led to the identification of 15 overarching codes. The ATLAS.ti Web software (ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH) was used to mark all 29 transcripts using these codes. After examining the data grouped by codes, comparative analyses led to the identification of main themes, each with a central organizing concept.

RESULTS

Four main themes were identified: (1) having to change my coping due to the pandemic, (2) confronting a context of shifting perceptions of mental health stigma among diverse groups, (3) "Feels like home"-experiencing a sense of inclusivity and belonging in T4W/Juntos, and (4) "It's a one-stop-shop"-judging T4W/Juntos to be a desirable and useful website. Overall, the T4W/Juntos website communicated support and community to this sample during the pandemic. Participants shared suggestions for website improvement, including adding a back button and a drop-down menu to improve functionality as well as resources tailored to the needs of groups such as older adults; adolescents; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community; police officers; and veterans.

CONCLUSIONS

The qualitative findings from telephone interviews with this sample of community members and service providers in California suggest that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the T4W/Juntos website was well received as a useful, accessible tool, with some concerns noted such as language sometimes being too "professional" or "clinical." The look, feel, and content of the website were described as welcoming due to pictures, animations, and videos that showcased resources in a personal, colorful, and inviting way. Furthermore, the content was perceived as lacking the stigma typically attached to mental health, reflecting the commitment of the T4W/Juntos team. Unique features and diverse resources, including multiple languages, made the T4W/Juntos website a valuable resource, potentially informing dissemination. Future efforts to develop mental health websites should consider engaging a diverse sample of potential users to understand how to tailor messages to specific communities and help reduce stigma.

Impact of Opera on Resilience and Thriving in Serious Mental Illness: Pilot Evaluation of The Center Cannot Hold Part 2 and Resilience Workshop

There are few studies of impacts of arts on recovery in schizphrenia, on audience mood and social connection. We developed a pilot evaluation of opera performances in a university setting on Elyn Saks' journey from psychosis, teaching law and falling in love, coupled with pre-opera workshop on approaches to resilience. Using surveys, primary outcomes were pre and post affect (PANAS-X positive, negative; visual "affect grid" touchscreen for affective valence and arousal) and social connectedness with secondary outcomes of increasing understanding, reducing stigma and willingness to socialize or serve persons with mental illness. Of 107 live and 117 online attendees, 64 completed pre, 24 post, and 22 both surveys. Respondent characteristics were similar for those with pre and pre and post surveys: average age mid 50's, half female, 10% sexual minority, half White/Caucasian, 13% Hispanic/Latino, 11% Black/African American and 20% Asian; of 22 with pre and post, 9 (41%) were providers. There were significant post-pre increases in positive affect (PANAS-X) and arousal (visual grid) and social connectedness (Cohen's d = 0.82 to 1.24, each p < .001); and willingness to socialize with someone with schizophrenia (d = 0.68, p = .011). In this pilot evaluation of opera in a university auditorium, despite small sample sizes, there were significant post-pre increases in audience positive affect and social connection, which could reflect selection (those with positive response completing surveys) or may suggest that arts events promote well-being and connection, issues for future larger studies.

Quality of Depression Care for Veterans Affairs Primary Care Patients with Experiences of Homelessness

BACKGROUND

Persons who experience homelessness (PEH) have high rates of depression and incur challenges accessing high-quality health care. Some Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities offer homeless-tailored primary care clinics, although such tailoring is not required, within or outside VA. Whether services tailoring enhances care for depression is unstudied.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether PEH in homeless-tailored primary care settings receive higher quality of depression care, compared to PEH in usual VA primary care.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study of depression treatment among a regional cohort of VA primary care patients (2016-2019).

PARTICIPANTS

PEH diagnosed or treated for a depressive disorder.

MAIN MEASURES

The quality measures were timely follow-up care (3 + completed visits with a primary care or mental health specialist provider, or 3 + psychotherapy sessions) within 84 days of a positive PHQ-2 screen result, timely follow-up care within 180 days, and minimally appropriate treatment (4 + mental health visits, 3 + psychotherapy visits, 60 + days antidepressant) within 365 days. We applied multivariable mixed-effect logistic regressions to model differences in care quality for PEH in homeless-tailored versus usual primary care settings.

KEY RESULTS

Thirteen percent of PEH with depressive disorders received homeless-tailored primary care (n = 374), compared to usual VA primary care (n = 2469). Tailored clinics served more PEH who were Black, who were non-married, and who had low income, serious mental illness, and substance use disorders. Among all PEH, 48% received timely follow-up care within 84 days of depression screening, 67% within 180 days, and 83% received minimally appropriate treatment. Quality metric attainment was higher for PEH in homeless-tailored clinics, compared to PEH in usual VA primary care: follow-up within 84 days (63% versus 46%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.61, p = .001), follow-up within 180 days (78% versus 66%; AOR = 1.51, p = .003), and minimally appropriate treatment (89% versus 82%; AOR = 1.58, p = .004).

CONCLUSIONS

Homeless-tailored primary care approaches may improve depression care for PEH.

Integration of Arts and Health Sciences in Developing an Opera on Veteran Resilience and Recovery

There is an emerging literature on research interviews to inform arts projects, but little on opera. This case study illustrates how research data informed an opera on Veteran recovery. Deidentified interviews were selected from 280 adults with a history of depression at 10-year follow-up to a randomized trial. Interviews were used to inform characters, storyline, and libretto. Ethical strategies included: changing details and merging stories and characters to create two Veterans and one spouse as leads, a storyline, and choral passages, with a focus on recovery from post-traumatic stress and homelessness. To engage a broad audience and address stigma, accessible composition techniques (melody, harmony) were used. We found that qualitative/mixed data can inform libretto and composition for an opera on Veteran recovery, through integrating art and health science.

Multi-Sector Assessment and Client-Perception of Social Need at Long-Term Follow-Up of a Group-Randomized Trial of Community-Engaged Collaborative Care for Adults with Depression

Understanding client perceptions of need for underlying social determinant support may improve services for depression care. This secondary analysis examines perceptions of "social needs" related to housing and employment, financial, and legal (EFL) concerns among individuals with depression. Data were analyzed from Community Partners in Care, a randomized comparative effectiveness trial of multi-sector collaborative care for depression among a sample of people who were predominantly racial/ethnic minorities and low-income. Adults with depression (n = 980) in both interventions were surveyed at 36-month follow-up for (1) being asked about and (2) having social needs for housing or EFL concerns. In multivariate models, life difficulty and mental health visits in non-healthcare sectors predicted being asked about housing and EFL. Lower social determinants of health-related life satisfaction increased the odds of having unmet housing and EFL needs. These findings underscore the role of non-healthcare organizations as community resources for depression care and in screening and addressing social needs.

Regional Research-Practice-Policy Partnerships in Response to Climate-Related Disparities: Promoting Health Equity in the Pacific

Although climate change poses a threat to health and well-being globally, a regional approach to addressing climate-related health equity may be more suitable, appropriate, and appealing to under-resourced communities and countries. In support of this argument, this commentary describes an approach by a network of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers dedicated to promoting climate-related health equity in Small Island Developing States and low- and middle-income countries in the Pacific. We identify three primary sets of needs related to developing a regional capacity to address physical and mental health disparities through research, training, and assistance in policy and practice implementation: (1) limited healthcare facilities and qualified medical and mental health providers; (2) addressing the social impacts related to the cooccurrence of natural hazards, disease outbreaks, and complex emergencies; and (3) building the response capacity and resilience to climate-related extreme weather events and natural hazards.

Life Events, Barriers to Care, and Outcomes Among Minority Women Experiencing Depression: A Longitudinal, Mixed-Method Examination

ABSTRACT

The long-term course of depression is not well-understood among minority women. We assessed depression trajectory, barriers to depression care, and life difficulties among minority women accessing health and social service programs as part of the Community Partners in Care study. Data include surveys ( N = 339) and interviews ( n = 58) administered at 3-year follow-up with African American and Latina women with improved versus persistent depression. The majority of the sample reported persistent depression (224/339, 66.1%), ≥1 barrier to mental health care (226/339, 72.4%), and multiple life difficulties (mean, 2.7; SD, 2.3). Many barriers to care ( i.e. , related to stigma and care experience, finances, and logistics) and life difficulties ( i.e. , related to finances, trauma, and relationships) were more common among individuals reporting persistent depression. Results suggest the importance of past experiences with depression treatment, ongoing barriers to care, and negative life events as contributors to inequities in depression outcomes experienced by minority women.

Impact of Opera on Mental Health Stigma: Pilot of Provider/Community Workshop

BACKGROUND

Arts can influence mental health stigma, but little is known about impact of operas. We examined effects of a two-opera workshop on complicated grief and schizophrenia.

METHODS

Pre-post audience surveys with post-workshop discussion. The primary outcome was a 4-item measure of willingness to engage with persons with grief or schizophrenia. Secondary outcomes were perceptions of art affecting stigma and stigma mediators. Of 47 participants, 33 had pre-post surveys for both operas.

RESULTS

There was a significant pre-post opera increase in audience willingness to engage with persons with grief or schizophrenia (p < .001). Perceptions of impact on mediators such as empathy, were significantly greater for the opera on schizophrenia relative to grief (p < .001)..

CONCLUSION

The pre- to post increase in audience willingness to engage with affected persons (primary) with greater impact on secondary mediators for the schizophrenia opera and post-discussion suggest that operas may be a forum for addressing mental health stigma and promoting empathy.

Co-created Mobile Apps for Palliative Care Using Community-Partnered Participatory Research: Development and Usability Study

Background

Open design formats for mobile apps help clinicians and stakeholders bring their needs to direct, co-creative solutions. Palliative care for patients with advanced cancers requires intensive monitoring and support and remains an area in high need for innovation.

Objective

This study aims to use community-partnered participatory research to co-design and pretest a mobile app that focuses on palliative care priorities of clinicians and patients with advanced cancer.

Methods

In-person and teleconference workshops were held with patient and family stakeholders, researchers, and clinicians in palliative care and oncology. Question prompts, written feedback, semistructured interviews, and facilitated group discussions identified the core palliative care needs. Using Chorus, a no-code app-building platform, a mobile app was co-designed with the stakeholders. A pretest with 11 patients was conducted, with semistructured interviews of clinician and patient users for feedback.

Results

Key themes identified from the focus groups included needs for patient advocacy and encouragement, access to vetted information, patient-clinician communication support, and symptom management. The initial prototype, My Wellness App, contained a weekly wellness journal to track patient-reported symptoms, goals, and medication use; information on self-management of symptoms; community resources; and patient and caregiver testimonial videos. Initial pretesting identified value in app-based communication for clinicians, patients, and caregivers, with suggestions for improving user interface, feedback and presentation of symptom reports, and gamification and staff coordinators to support patient app engagement.

Conclusions

The development of a mobile app using community-partnered participatory research is a low-technology and feasible intervention for palliative care. Iterative redesign and user interface expertise may improve implementation.

Communities for Wellness Equity: Implementing a Partnered Symposium to Identify Social Determinants of Health Priorities

BACKGROUND

Social determinants of health (SDoH) affect under-resourced communities. Such communities are seldom involved in defining and prioritizing local SDoH for policy action.

OBJECTIVES

Apply community-partnered, participatory research (CPPR) to identify community stakeholder priorities for addressing SDoH in South Los Angeles.

METHODS

Over 10 months, CPPR was applied to develop a multi-sector partnership and working group to plan and host a symposium for community stakeholders. 148 individuals and 16 organizations participated and engaged in focus and symposium-wide discussions. Themes were identified through collaborative inductive content analysis.Results and Lessons Learned: Participants identified ten specific SDoH, such as housing, with structural racism and discrimination as the underlying cause.

CONCLUSIONS

Using CPPR to gain community members' insight about local factors that drive individual and community health is feasible and viewed by the community as socially responsible, suggesting it holds promise to address root causes of health inequality in under-resourced communities.

Electronic Population-Based Depression Detection and Management Through Universal Screening in the Veterans Health Administration

IMPORTANCE

In 2016, the US Preventive Services Task Force newly recommended universal screening for depression, with the expectation that screening would be associated with appropriate treatment. Few studies have been able to assess the population-based trajectory from screening to receipt of follow-up and treatment for individuals with depression.

OBJECTIVE

To examine adherence to guidelines for follow-up and treatment among primary care patients who newly screened positive for depression in the Veterans Health Administration (VA).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This retrospective cohort study used VA electronic data to identify patients who newly screened positive for depression on the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire at 82 primary care VA clinics in California, Arizona, and New Mexico between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2019. Data analysis was performed from December 2020 to August 2021.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Receipt of guideline-concordant care for screen-positive patients who were determined by clinicians as having depression was assessed. Timely follow-up (within 84 days of screening) was defined as receiving 3 or more mental health specialty visits, 3 or more psychotherapy visits, or 3 or more primary care visits with a depression diagnosis according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision. Completing at least minimal treatment (within 12 months) was defined as having 60 days or more of antidepressant prescriptions filled, 4 or more mental health specialty visits, or 3 or more psychotherapy visits.

RESULTS

The final cohort included 607 730 veterans (mean [SD] age, 59.4 [18.2] years; 546 516 men [89.9%]; 339 811 non-Hispanic White [55.9%]); 8%, or 82 998 of 997 185 person-years, newly screened positive for depression. Clinicians identified fewer than half with depression (15 155 patients), of whom 32% (5034 of 15 650 person-years) met treatment guidelines for timely follow-up and 77% (12 026 of 15 650 person-years) completed at least minimal treatment. Younger age (odds ratio, 0.990; 95% CI, 0.986-0.993; P < .001), Black race (odds ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, CI 1.05-1.34; P = .01), and having comorbid psychiatric diagnoses were significantly associated with timely follow-up. Individual quality metric components (eg, medication or psychotherapy) were associated differently with overall quality results among patient groups, except for age.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this cohort study, most patients met the guidelines for completing at least minimal treatment, but only a minority received timely follow-up after screening positive and being identified as having depression. More research is needed to understand whether the discrepancy between patients who screened positive and patients identified as having depression reflects a gap in recognition of needed care.

Veteran Journeys: Creating an Opera Based on Research, Clinical, and Personal Experiences

This Open Forum describes the process of integrating personal experience; clinical experience in providing care; and research background, methods, and data in creating an arts project (i.e., an opera) highlighting veterans' resilience and recovery in the context of posttraumatic stress disorder and homelessness. Specifically, an approach of using research interviews to identify storylines and characters for veterans, along with personal and clinical experiences to frame provider characters and stories, is described to illustrate an arts-in-medicine approach to portraying recovery among veterans.

Effectiveness of collaborative care in reducing suicidal ideation: An individual participant data meta-analysis

To assess whether CC is more effective at reducing suicidal ideation in people with depression compared with usual care, and whether study and patient factors moderate treatment effects.

METHOD

We searched Medline, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, CENTRAL from inception to March 2020 for Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) that compared the effectiveness of CC with usual care in depressed adults, and reported changes in suicidal ideation at 4 to 6 months post-randomisation. Mixed-effects models accounted for clustering of participants within trials and heterogeneity across trials. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42020201747.

RESULTS

We extracted data from 28 RCTs (11,165 patients) of 83 eligible studies. We observed a small significant clinical improvement of CC on suicidal ideation, compared with usual care (SMD, -0.11 [95%CI, -0.15 to -0.08]; I², 0·47% [95%CI 0.04% to 4.90%]). CC interventions with a recognised psychological treatment were associated with small reductions in suicidal ideation (SMD, -0.15 [95%CI -0.19 to -0.11]). CC was more effective for reducing suicidal ideation among patients aged over 65 years (SMD, - 0.18 [95%CI -0.25 to -0.11]).

CONCLUSION

Primary care based CC with an embedded psychological intervention is the most effective CC framework for reducing suicidal ideation and older patients may benefit the most.

Engaging Community Networks to Improve Depression Services: A Cluster-Randomized Trial of a Community Engagement and Planning Intervention

This paper explores the effects of a group-randomized controlled trial, Community Partners in Care (CPIC), on the development of interagency networks for collaborative depression care improvement between a community engagement and planning (CEP) intervention and a resources for services (RS) intervention that provided the same content solely via technical assistance to individual programs. Both interventions consisted of a diverse set of service agencies, including health, mental health, substance abuse treatment, social services, and community-trusted organizations such as churches and parks and recreation centers. Participants in the community councils for the CEP intervention reflected a range of agency leaders, staff, and other stakeholders. Network analysis of partnerships among agencies in the CEP versus RS condition, and qualitative analysis of perspectives on interagency network changes from multiple sources, suggested that agencies in the CEP intervention exhibited greater growth in partnership capacity among themselves than did RS agencies. CEP participants also viewed the coalition development intervention both as promoting collaboration in depression services and as a meaningful community capacity building activity. These descriptive results help to identify plausible mechanisms of action for the CPIC interventions and can be used to guide development of future community engagement interventions and evaluations in under-resourced communities.

A Rapid Assessment of Disaster Preparedness Needs and Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: This year has seen the emergence of two major crises, a significant increase in the frequency and severity of hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known as to how each of these two events have impacted the other. A rapid qualitative assessment was conducted to determine the impact of the pandemic on preparedness and response to natural disasters and the impact of past experiences with natural disasters in responding to the pandemic. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 representatives of 24 different community-based programs in southern Louisiana. Data were analyzed using procedures embedded in the Rapid Assessment Procedure-Informed Community Ethnography methodology, using techniques of immersion and crystallization and focused thematic analysis. Results: The pandemic has impacted the form and function of disaster preparedness, making it harder to plan for evacuations in the event of a hurricane. Specific concerns included being able to see people in person, providing food and other resources to residents who shelter in place, finding volunteers to assist in food distribution and other forms of disaster response, competing for funds to support disaster-related activities, developing new support infrastructures, and focusing on equity in disaster preparedness. However, several strengths based on disaster preparedness experience and capabilities were identified, including providing a framework for how to respond and adapt to COVID and integration of COVID response with their normal disaster preparedness activities. Conclusions: Although prior experience has enabled community-based organizations to respond to the pandemic, the pandemic is also creating new challenges to preparing for and responding to natural disasters.

Achieving Mental Health Equity: Collaborative Care

The literature supports the effectiveness of systems-based integrated care models, particularly collaborative care, to improve access, quality of care, and health outcomes for behavioral health conditions. There is growing evidence for the promise of collaborative care to reduce behavioral health disparities for racial and ethnic, low-income, and other at-risk populations. Using rapid literature review, this article highlights what is known about how collaborative care may promote health equity for behavioral health conditions, by reducing disparities in access, quality, and outcomes of care. Further, it explores innovative intervention and engagement strategies to promote behavioral health equity for at-risk groups.

Patient and Provider Cocreation of Mobile Texting Apps to Support Behavioral Health: Usability Study

Background

Mobile technologies hold potential for improving the quality of care and engagement of patients. However, there are considerable challenges in ensuring that technologies are relevant, useful, and engaging. While end users such as patients and providers are increasingly involved in the design of health technologies, there are limited examples of their involvement in directly creating technologies for their personal use.

Objective

We aim to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of patients and providers creating mobile texting apps to support treatment goals.

Methods

In an 11-month usability study, we enrolled 4 providers and 28 patients in an intensive outpatient program for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Patients and providers created their own mobile texting apps using a visual app development platform. A subsample of 10 patients and 4 providers completed a usability measure.

Results

Participants created a total of 360 unique mobile text messages (1787 total messages sent). There were 4 types of messages identified, including personalized reminders, clinical exposures, interactive prompts, and encouraging/informational messages. A total of 9 out of 10 (90%) patients agreed that the messages were relevant to their recovery, and 8 out of 10 (80%) agreed that the messages were effective at helping complete treatment plans.

Conclusions

Enabling patients and providers to cocreate apps for their own use by using a visual application platform is feasible and holds potential for increasing the relevance, sustainability, and effectiveness of digital health technologies.

Medicaid Utilization Before and After a Natural Disaster in the 2016 Baton Rouge-Area Flood

Objectives. To understand changes in behavioral health services utilization and expenditures before and after natural disaster with an adult Medicaid population affected by the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-area flood (August 2016).Methods. We examined de-identified behavioral health claims data for Medicaid-insured adults in the affected region for 10 months before and after flooding (October 2015-June 2017). This constituted 273 233 provider claims for 22 196 individuals. Claims data included patient gender, behavioral health diagnoses, treatment dates, and costs. We made adjustments for Medicaid expansion by using monthly enrollment data.Results. Overall, most male patient behavioral health care visits were for substance use disorders (33.6%) and most female patient behavioral health care visits were for depression-related disorders (30%). Both diagnostic categories increased after the flood by 66% and 44%, respectively. Expansion accounted for a 4% increase in claims. Postflood claims reflected 8% to 10% higher costs.Conclusions. Greater amounts of behavioral health care services were sought in all 10 months of the postflood study period. We observed gender differences in use of services and diagnoses. Behavioral health care services following natural disasters must be extended longer than traditionally expected, with consideration for specific population needs.

Preparedness and Community Resilience in Disaster-Prone Areas: Cross-Sectoral Collaborations in South Louisiana, 2018

Objectives. To determine how community-based organizations (CBOs) define priorities for bolstering community resilience, challenges in addressing these priorities, and strategies to address challenges.Methods. The Community Resilience Learning Collaborative and Research Network (C-LEARN) is a multiphase study examining opportunities to improve community resilience to the threats of disaster and climate change in South Louisiana. Phase I of C-LEARN involved using the National Health Security Strategy and Implementation Plan for directed content analysis of key informant interviews with CBO representatives from 47 agencies within South Louisiana between February and May 2018.Results. CBO interviewees highlighted the importance of forging relationships and building trust through diverse cross-sector collaborations and partnerships before disasters. Such collaborations and partnerships were shown to tailor disaster response to the needs of particular communities and populations as well as address key challenges such as gaps in information, services, and resources.Conclusions. Our results encourage a culture of community resilience and community preparedness through partnerships and community-engaged strategies. C-LEARN will utilize the results of our interviews in the design of phase II of our agency-level coalition-building intervention.

Improving the implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices in community mental health organizations: a study protocol for a matched-pair cluster randomized pilot study of the Collaborative Organizational Approach to Selecting and Tailoring Implementation Strategies (COAST-IS)

Background

Implementing and sustaining evidence-based programs with fidelity may require multiple implementation strategies tailored to address multi-level, context-specific barriers and facilitators. Ideally, selecting and tailoring implementation strategies should be guided by theory, evidence, and input from relevant stakeholders; however, methods to guide the selection and tailoring of strategies are not well-developed. There is a need for more rigorous methods for assessing and prioritizing implementation determinants (barriers and facilitators) and linking implementation strategies to determinants. The Collaborative Organizational Approach to Selecting and Tailoring Implementation Strategies (COAST-IS) is an intervention designed to increase the effectiveness of evidence-based practice implementation and sustainment. COAST-IS will enable organizational leaders and clinicians to use Intervention Mapping to select and tailor implementation strategies to address their site-specific needs. Intervention Mapping is a multi-step process that incorporates theory, evidence, and stakeholder perspectives to ensure that implementation strategies effectively address key determinants of change.

Methods

COAST-IS will be piloted with community mental health organizations that are working to address the needs of children and youth who experience trauma-related emotional or behavioral difficulties by engaging in a learning collaborative to implement an evidence-based psychosocial intervention (trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy). Organizations will be matched and then randomized to participate in the learning collaborative only (control) or to receive additional support through COAST-IS. The primary aims of this study are to (1) assess the acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and perceived utility of COAST-IS; (2) evaluate the organizational stakeholders' fidelity to the core elements of COAST-IS; and (3) demonstrate the feasibility of testing COAST-IS in a larger effectiveness trial.

Discussion

COAST-IS is a systematic method that integrates theory, evidence, and stakeholder perspectives to improve the effectiveness and precision of implementation strategies. If effective, COAST-IS has the potential to improve the implementation and sustainment of a wide range of evidence-based practices in mental health and other sectors.

Trial registration

This study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03799432) on January 10, 2019 (last updated August 5, 2019).

Clinical state tracking in serious mental illness through computational analysis of speech

Individuals with serious mental illness experience changes in their clinical states over time that are difficult to assess and that result in increased disease burden and care utilization. It is not known if features derived from speech can serve as a transdiagnostic marker of these clinical states. This study evaluates the feasibility of collecting speech samples from people with serious mental illness and explores the potential utility for tracking changes in clinical state over time. Patients (n = 47) were recruited from a community-based mental health clinic with diagnoses of bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Patients used an interactive voice response system for at least 4 months to provide speech samples. Clinic providers (n = 13) reviewed responses and provided global assessment ratings. We computed features of speech and used machine learning to create models of outcome measures trained using either population data or an individual's own data over time. The system was feasible to use, recording 1101 phone calls and 117 hours of speech. Most (92%) of the patients agreed that it was easy to use. The individually-trained models demonstrated the highest correlation with provider ratings (rho = 0.78, p<0.001). Population-level models demonstrated statistically significant correlations with provider global assessment ratings (rho = 0.44, p<0.001), future provider ratings (rho = 0.33, p<0.05), BASIS-24 summary score, depression sub score, and self-harm sub score (rho = 0.25,0.25, and 0.28 respectively; p<0.05), and the SF-12 mental health sub score (rho = 0.25, p<0.05), but not with other BASIS-24 or SF-12 sub scores. This study brings together longitudinal collection of objective behavioral markers along with a transdiagnostic, personalized approach for tracking of mental health clinical state in a community-based clinical setting.

Community Interventions to Promote Mental Health and Social Equity

(Reprinted with permission from Current Psychiatry Reports (2020) 21: 35).

The Physical and the Emotional: Case Report, Mixed-Methods Development, and Discussion

There is a growing recognition that emotional problems are important to physical health outcomes. In response, primary care clinics have introduced self-report checklists to identify patients with emotional disorders such as depression or anxiety. Yet psychodynamic theory posits that certain emotional problems may be unconscious and unspoken, and thus not discernible on self-report checklists, and studies show that checklists do not identify every patient who needs treatment. New clinical tools are needed to identify subtle and complex presentations. We aimed to develop an innovative mixed-methods approach characterizing different types of verbal expression of feelings, drawing on psychodynamic theory and empirical research. We outline the development of the mixed-methods approach, including our theoretical framework and use of semi-structured interview data from Partners in Care (PIC), a randomized controlled trial of quality improvement for depression. We then illustrate the approach with one case: an older female PIC participant who screened positive for depression on all study self-reports. The approach delineates three qualitatively different categories of words-specific feeling words, vague feeling words, and physical words-that were quantified to define a measurable pattern for our participant. Clinicians could be trained to identify these categories of words in the context of a discussion of feelings to better detect and understand subtle emotional problems in patients who have difficulty talking openly about their feelings. Next steps include furthering face and construct validity and test-retest reliability, examining the prevalence of these patterns in a larger sample, and assessing correlates of patterns.

Community Interventions to Promote Mental Health and Social Equity

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We review recent community interventions to promote mental health and social equity. We define community interventions as those that involve multi-sector partnerships, emphasize community members as integral to the intervention, and/or deliver services in community settings. We examine literature in seven topic areas: collaborative care, early psychosis, school-based interventions, homelessness, criminal justice, global mental health, and mental health promotion/prevention. We adapt the social-ecological model for health promotion and provide a framework for understanding the actions of community interventions.

RECENT FINDINGS

There are recent examples of effective interventions in each topic area. The majority of interventions focus on individual, family/interpersonal, and program/institutional social-ecological levels, with few intervening on whole communities or involving multiple non-healthcare sectors. Findings from many studies reinforce the interplay among mental health, interpersonal relationships, and social determinants of health. There is evidence for the effectiveness of community interventions for improving mental health and some social outcomes across social-ecological levels. Studies indicate the importance of ongoing resources and training to maintain long-term outcomes, explicit attention to ethics and processes to foster equitable partnerships, and policy reform to support sustainable healthcare-community collaborations.

Community, Public Policy, and Recovery from Mental Illness: Emerging Research and Initiatives

This commentary examines the roles that communities and public policies play in the definition and processes of recovery for adults with mental illness. Policy, clinical, and consumer definitions of recovery are reviewed, which highlight the importance of communities and policies for recovery. This commentary then presents a framework for the relationships between community-level factors, policies, and downstream mental health outcomes, focusing on macroeconomic, housing, and health care policies; adverse exposures such as crime victimization; and neighborhood characteristics such as social capital. Initiatives that address community contexts to improve mental health outcomes are currently under way. Common characteristics of such initiatives and select examples are discussed. This commentary concludes with a discussion of providers', consumers', and other stakeholders' roles in shaping policy reform and community change to facilitate recovery.

12-Month Cost Outcomes of Community Engagement Versus Technical Assistance for Depression Quality Improvement: A Partnered, Cluster Randomized, Comparative-Effectiveness Trial

Objective

To compare community engagement and planning (CEP) for coalition support to implement depression quality improvement (QI) to resources for services (RS) effects on service-use costs over a 12-month period.

Design

Matched health and community programs (N=93) were cluster-randomized within communities to CEP or RS.

Setting

Two Los Angeles communities.

Participants

Adults (N=1,013) with depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) ≥10); 85% African American and Latino.

Interventions

CEP and RS to support programs in depression QI.

Main Outcome Measures

Intervention training and service-use costs over 12 months.

Results

CEP planning and training costs were almost 3 times higher than RS, largely due to greater CEP provider training participation vs RS, with no significant differences in 12-month service-use costs.

Conclusions

Compared with RS, CEP had higher planning and training costs with similar service-use costs.

Community Partners in Care: 6- and 12-month Outcomes of Community Engagement versus Technical Assistance to Implement Depression Collaborative Care among Depressed Older Adults

Objective

Community Partners in Care, a community-partnered, cluster-randomized trial with depressed clients from 95 Los Angeles health and community programs, examined the added value of a community coalition approach (Community Engagement and Planning [CEP]) versus individual program technical assistance (Resources for Services [RS]) to implement depression collaborative care in underserved communities. This exploratory subanalysis examines 6- and 12-month outcomes among CPIC participants aged >50 years.

Design

Community-partnered, cluster-randomized trial conducted between April 2010 and March 2012.

Setting

Hollywood-Metropolitan (HM) and South Los Angeles (SLA) Service Planning Areas (SPAs), Los Angeles, California.

Participants

394 participants aged >50 years with depressive symptoms (8-item Patient Health Questionnaire score ≥ 10).

Intervention

A community-partnered multi-sector coalition approach (Community Engagement and Planning [CEP]) vs individual program technical assistance (Resources for Services [RS]) to implement depression collaborative care.

Main Outcome Measures

Depressive symptoms (PHQ-8 score), mental health-related quality of life (MHRQL), community-prioritized outcomes including mental wellness, homelessness risk and physical activity, and services utilization.

Results

At 6 months, CEP was more effective than RS at improving MHRQL and mental wellness among participants aged >50 years; no differences were found in the effects of CEP vs RS on other outcomes. No significant outcome differences between CEP and RS were found at 12 months.

Conclusions

A multisector community coalition approach may offer additional benefits over individual program technical assistance to improve outcomes among depressed adults aged >50 years living in underserved communities.

Whole Person Care in Under-resourced Communities: Stakeholder Priorities at Long-Term Follow-Up in Community Partners in Care

Objective

Depressed individuals may require help from different agencies to address health and social needs, but how such coordination occurs in under-resourced communities is poorly understood. This study sought to identify priorities of Latino and African American depressed clients, explore whether service providers understand client priorities, and describe how providers address them.

Methods

Between October 2014 and February 2015, we interviewed 104 clients stratified by depression history and 50 representatives of different programs in health and social community agencies who participated in Community Partners in Care, a cluster-randomized trial of coalition-building approaches to delivering depression quality improvement programs. Clients were queried about their most pressing needs; program representatives identified their clients' needs and explained how they addressed them.

Results

Physical and mental health were clients' top priorities, followed by housing, caring for and building relationships with others, and employment. While persistently depressed clients prioritized mental health, those with improved depression prioritized relationships with others. Program representatives identified housing, employment, mental health, and improving relationships with others as clients' top priorities. Needs assessment, client-centered services, and linkages to other agencies were main strategies used to address client needs.

Conclusion

Depressed clients have multiple health and social needs, and program representatives in under-resourced communities understand the complexity of clients' needs. Agencies rely on needs assessment and referrals to meet their clients' needs, which enhances the importance of agency partnership in "whole person" initiatives. Our results illustrate agency capacity to adopt integrated care models that will address clients' multiple needs through multi-sector collaboration and describe potential strategies to help reach the goal of whole person care.

Commentary: Applying the Community Partners in Care Approach to the Opioid Crisis

Background

Given national concern over rising mortality from opioid use disorders (OUD) and challenges to increasing OUD treatment access, a coalition approach may hold promise to improve access and outcomes for diverse populations. We present considerations of a community-partnered working group on adapting the Community Partners in Care (CPIC) study and coalition approach to OUD.

Method

During January 2016 through January 2017, academic, provider, consumer and policy stakeholders reviewed options to adapt CPIC's Resources for Services (RS) for individual program technical assistance and Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) for coalition support to OUD treatments, integrating stakeholder input into design options with estimated sample sizes.

Findings

The working group recommended Community Reinforcement and Family Treatment (CRAFT) as a stakeholder-support intervention to facilitate uptake and adherence to Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT). Recommended implementation interventions for MAT/CRAFT were expert technical assistance supplemented by organizational readiness, and CEP for coalition support with a Learning Collaborative. Power estimation suggests that to compare implementation intervention effects on abstinence would require a somewhat larger enrolled sample and 3-4 times the screening sample as CPIC, and for mortality, at least 5-10 times the enrolled sample as CPIC.

Discussion

Stakeholders viewed the CPIC design and interventions as feasible and acceptable as community-wide approaches for addressing the opioid epidemic, but comparing impacts on mortality would require large, multi-site trials.

Editorial: Developments in Community Partnered Participatory Research for Behavioral Health

Ethn Dis. 2018;28(Suppl 2): 287-290; doi:10.18865/ed.28.S2.287.

Community Partnering for Behavioral Health Equity: Public Agency and Community Leaders' Views of its Promise and Challenge

Objective

To understand potential for multi-sector partnerships among community-based organizations and publicly funded health systems to implement health improvement strategies that advance health equity.

Design

Key stakeholder interviewing during HNI planning and early implementation to elicit perceptions of multi-sector partnerships and innovations required for partnerships to achieve system transformation and health equity.

Setting

In 2014, the Los Angeles County (LAC) Board of Supervisors approved the Health Neighborhood Initiative (HNI) that aims to: 1) improve coordination of health services for behavioral health clients across safety-net providers within neighborhoods; and 2) address social determinants of health through community-driven, public agency sponsored partnerships with community-based organizations.

Participants

Twenty-five semi-structured interviews with 49 leaders from LAC health systems, community-based organizations; and payers.

Results

Leaders perceived partnerships within and beyond health systems as transformative in their potential to: improve access, value, and efficiency; align priorities of safety-net systems and communities; and harness the power of communities to impact health. Leaders identified trust as critical to success in partnerships but named lack of time for relationship-building, limitations in service capacity, and questions about sustainability as barriers to trust-building. Leaders described the need for procedural innovations within health systems that would support equitable partnerships including innovations that would increase transparency and normalize information exchange, share agenda-setting and decision-making power with partners, and institutionalize partnering through training and accountability.

Conclusions

Leaders described improving procedural justice in public agencies' relationships with communities as key to effective partnering for health equity.

Maintaining Internal Validity in Community Partnered Participatory Research: Experience from the Community Partners in Care Study

Objective

With internal validity being a central goal of designed experiments, we seek to elucidate how community partnered participatory research (CPPR) impacts the internal validity of public health comparative-effectiveness research.

Methods

Community Partners in Care (CPIC), a study comparing a community-coalition intervention to direct technical assistance for disseminating depression care to vulnerable populations, is used to illustrate design choices developed with attention to core CPPR principles. The study-design process is reviewed retrospectively and evaluated based on the resulting covariate balance across intervention arms and on broader peer-review assessments. Contributions of the CPIC Council and the study's design committee are highlighted.

Results

CPPR principles contributed to building consensus around the use of randomization, creating a sampling frame, specifying geographic boundaries delimiting the scope of the investigation, grouping similar programs into pairs or other small blocks of units, collaboratively choosing random-number-generator seeds to determine randomized intervention assignments, and addressing logistical constraints in field operations. Study protocols yielded samples that were well-balanced on background characteristics across intervention arms. CPIC has been recognized for scientific merit, has drawn attention from policymakers, and has fueled ongoing research collaborations.

Conclusions

Creative and collaborative fulfillment of CPPR principles reinforced the internal validity of CPIC, strengthening the study's scientific rigor by engaging complementary areas of knowledge and expertise among members of the investigative team.

The Community and Patient Partnered Research Network (CPPRN): Application of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research to Promote Behavioral Health Equity

Objective

We describe the rationale, development, and progress on the Community and Patient Partnered Research Network (CPPRN). The CPPRN builds on more than a decade of partnered work and is designed to promote health equity by developing partnered research on behavioral health and social risk factors in Los Angeles and New Orleans.

Setting

A community-academic partnership across Los Angeles County and New Orleans.

Methods

Review of rationale, history, structure, activities and progress in applying community partnered participatory research (CPPR) to CPPRN.

Findings

Patient and community stakeholders participated in all phases of development, including local and national activities. Key developments include partnered planning efforts, progress on aggregating a large, de-identified dataset across county agencies, and development of an information technology-supported screening approach for behavioral and social determinants in health care, social, and community-based settings.

Conclusion

The CPPRN represents a promising approach for research data networks, balancing the potential benefit of information technology and data analytic approaches while addressing potential risks and priorities of relevant stakeholders.

Stakeholder Perspectives on the Social Determinants of Mental Health in Community Coalitions

Objective

Although evidence supports the potential for community coalitions to positively address social determinants of mental health, little is known about the views of stakeholders involved in such efforts. This study sought to understand county leaders' perspectives about social determinants related to the Health Neighborhood Initiative (HNI), a new county effort to support community coalitions.

Design

Descriptive, qualitative study, 2014.

Setting

Community coalitions, located in a large urban city, across eight service planning areas, that serve under-resourced, ethnic minority populations.

Procedures

We conducted key informant interviews with 49 health care and community leaders to understand their perspectives about the HNI. As part of a larger project, this study focused on leaders' views about social determinants of health related to the HNI. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. An inductive approach to coding was used, with text segments grouped by social determinant categories.

Results

County leaders described multiple social determinants of mental health that were relevant to the HNI community coalitions: housing and safety, community violence, and employment and education. Leaders discussed how social determinants were interconnected with each other and the need for efforts to address multiple social determinants simultaneously to effectively improve mental health.

Conclusions

Community coalitions have an opportunity to address multiple social determinants of health to meet social and mental health needs of low-resourced communities. Future research should examine how community coalitions, like those in the HNI, can actively engage with community members to identify needs and then deliver evidence-based care.

Participatory Technology Development to Enhance Community Resilience

Objective

To assess the feasibility of a novel, partnered technology development process to co-create mobile health applications (apps) addressing community health priorities, using psychoeducation of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles for enhancing resilience as an example.

Design

Stakeholder engagement, workgroups, pilot feasibility study using mixed methods during October 2013 through January 2016 over three phases: 1) defining the vision of the project and increasing technical capacity, 2) co-development and pilot testing of the app, and 3) planning for sustainability.

Setting

An academic-community partnership in South Los Angeles, California.

Participants

Eight stakeholders; 30 pilot participants from the community.

Main Outcome Measures

Qualitative analysis of audio-recordings of the app development process and stakeholder interviews, surveys of stakeholders' perception of the development process, app use data, and feedback from pilot participants.

Results

The participatory technology development process resulted in creation and pilot-testing of a resiliency-focused text messaging app. Of the 1,107 messages sent, 23 out of 30 (77%) app users responded to explore interactive content. Stakeholders reported increased perceived competency in creating mobile apps and that the process fostered a culture of co-leadership. There was also sustained engagement in mobile app development by stakeholders beyond the initial project period.

Conclusions

This is the first study, to our knowledge, to demonstrate the feasibility of participatory technology development, an approach involving direct participation in the development, tailoring and maintenance of a mobile app by a broad set of stakeholders with high representation from racial/ethnic minorities from an under-resourced community. Participatory technology development is a promising approach for creating sustainable, relevant and engaging health technologies across different technological, clinical and community settings.

Comparative Effectiveness of Coalitions Versus Technical Assistance for Depression Quality Improvement in Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions

Significance

Prior research suggests that Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) for coalition support compared with Resources for Services (RS) for program technical assistance to implement depression quality improvement programs improves 6- and 12-month client mental-health related quality of life (MHRQL); however, effects for clients with multiple chronic medical conditions (MCC) are unknown.

Objective

To explore effectiveness of CEP vs RS in MCC and non-MCC subgroups.

Design

Secondary analyses of a cluster-randomized trial.

Setting

93 health care and community-based programs in two neighborhoods.

Participants

Of 4,440 clients screened, 1,322 depressed (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ8) provided contact information, 1,246 enrolled and 1,018 (548 with ≥3 MCC) completed baseline, 6- or 12-month surveys.

Intervention

CEP or RS for implementing depression quality improvement programs.

Outcomes and Analyses

Primary: depression (PHQ9 <10), poor MHRQL (Short Form Health Survey, SF-12<40); Secondary: mental wellness, good physical health, behavioral health hospitalization, chronic homelessness risk, work/workloss days, services use at 6 and 12 months. End-point regressions were used to estimate intervention effects on outcomes for subgroups with ≥3 MCC, non-MCC, and intervention-by-MCC interactions (exploratory).

Results

Among MCC clients at 6 months, CEP vs RS lowered likelihoods of depression and poor MHRQL; increased likelihood of mental wellness; reduced work-loss days among employed and likelihoods of ≥4 behavioral-health hospitalization nights and chronic homelessness risk, while increasing faith-based and park community center depression services; and at 12 months, likelihood of good physical health and park community center depression services use (each P<.05). There were no significant interactions or primary outcome effects for non-MCC.

Conclusions

CEP was more effective than RS in improving 6-month primary outcomes among depressed MCC clients, without significant interactions.

A Window of Opportunity: Visions and Strategies for Behavioral Health Policy Innovation

Objective

The New York City's Thrive (ThriveNYC) and the Los Angeles County Health Neighborhood Initiative (HNI) are two local policies focused on addressing the social determinants of behavioral health as a preventive strategy for improving health service delivery. On January 29, 2016, leaders from both initiatives came together with a range of federal agencies in health care, public health, and policy research at the RAND Corporation in Arlington, Virginia. The goal of this advisory meeting was to share lessons learned, consider research and evaluation strategies, and create a dialogue between stakeholders and federal funders - all with the purpose to build momentum for policy innovation in behavioral health equity.

Methods

This article analyzes ethnographic notes taken during the meeting and in-depth interviews of 14 meeting participants through Kingdon's multiple streams theory of policy change.

Results

Results demonstrated that stakeholders shared a vision for behavioral health policy innovation focused on community engagement and social determinants of health. In addition, Kingdon's model highlighted that the problem, policy and politics streams needed to form a window of opportunity for policy change were coupled, enabling the possibility for behavioral health policy innovation.

Conclusions

The advisory meeting suggested that local policy makers, academics, and community members, together with federal agents, are working to implement behavioral health policy innovation.

Community Resilience Learning Collaborative and Research Network (C-LEARN): Study Protocol with Participatory Planning for a Randomized, Comparative Effectiveness Trial

This manuscript presents the protocol and participatory planning process for implementing the Community Resilience Learning Collaborative and Research Network (C-LEARN) study. C-LEARN is designed to determine how to build a service program and individual client capacity to improve mental health-related quality of life among individuals at risk for depression, with exposure to social risk factors or concerns about environmental hazards in areas of Southern Louisiana at risk for events such as hurricanes and storms. The study uses a Community Partnered Participatory Research (CPPR) framework to incorporate community priorities into study design and implementation. The first phase of C-LEARN is assessment of community priorities, assets, and opportunities for building resilience through key informant interviews and community agency outreach. Findings from this phase will inform the implementation of a two-level (program-level and individual client level) randomized study in up to four South Louisiana communities. Within communities, health and social-community service programs will be randomized to Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) for multi-sector coalition support or Technical Assistance (TA) for individual program support to implement evidence-based and community-prioritized intervention toolkits, including an expanded version of depression collaborative care and resources (referrals, manuals) to address social risk factors such as financial or housing instability and for a community resilience approach to disaster preparedness and response. Within each arm, the study will randomize individual adult clients to one of two mobile applications that provide informational resources on services for depression, social risk factors, and disaster response or also provide psychoeducation on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to enhance coping with stress and mood. Planned data collection includes baseline, six-month and brief monthly surveys for clients, and baseline and 12-month surveys for administrators and staff.

Case Study of Resilient Baton Rouge: Applying Depression Collaborative Care and Community Planning to Disaster Recovery

BACKGROUND

Addressing behavioral health impacts of major disasters is a priority of increasing national attention, but there are limited examples of implementation strategies to guide new disaster responses. We provide a case study of an effort being applied in response to the 2016 Great Flood in Baton Rouge.

METHODS

Resilient Baton Rouge was designed to support recovery after major flooding by building local capacity to implement an expanded model of depression collaborative care for adults, coupled with identifying and responding to local priorities and assets for recovery. For a descriptive, initial evaluation, we coupled analysis of documents and process notes with descriptive surveys of participants in initial training and orientation, including preliminary comparisons among licensed and non-licensed participants to identify training priorities.

RESULTS

We expanded local behavioral health service delivery capacity through subgrants to four agencies, provision of training tailored to licensed and non-licensed providers and development of advisory councils and partnerships with grassroots and government agencies. We also undertook initial efforts to enhance national collaboration around post-disaster resilience.

CONCLUSION

Our partnered processes and lessons learned may be applicable to other communities that aim to promote resilience, as well as planning for and responding to post-disaster behavioral health needs.

Primary Care-Mental Health Integration in the VA: Shifting Mental Health Services for Common Mental Illnesses to Primary Care

OBJECTIVE

Primary care-mental health integration (PC-MHI) aims to increase access to general mental health specialty (MHS) care for primary care patients thereby decreasing referrals to non-primary care-based MHS services. It remains unclear whether new patterns of usage of MHS services reflect good mental health care. This study examined the relationship between primary care clinic engagement in PC-MHI and use of different MHS services.

METHODS

This was a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 66,638 primary care patients with mental illnesses in 29 Southern California Veterans Affairs clinics (2008-2013). Regression models used clinic PC-MHI engagement (proportion of all primary care clinic patients who received PC-MHI services) to predict relative rates of general MHS visits and more specialized MHS visits (for example, visits for serious mental illness services), after adjustment for year and clinic fixed effects, other clinic interventions, and patient characteristics.

RESULTS

Patients were commonly diagnosed as having depression (35%), anxiety (36%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (22%). For every 1 percentage point increase in a clinic's PC-MHI engagement rate, patients at the clinic had 1.2% fewer general MHS visits per year (p<.001) but no difference in more specialized MHS visits. The reduction in MHS visits occurred among patients with depression (-1.1%, p=.01) but not among patients with psychosis; however, the difference between the subsets was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary care clinics with greater engagement in PC-MHI showed reduced general MHS use rates, particularly for patients with depression, without accompanying reductions in use of more specialized MHS services.

Racial, Ethnic, and Nativity Differences in Mental Health Visits to Primary Care and Specialty Mental Health Providers: Analysis of the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, 2010-2015

Background. Black and Latino minorities have traditionally had poorer access to primary care than non-Latino Whites, but these patterns could change with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). To guide post-ACA efforts to address mental health service disparities, we used a nationally representative sample to characterize baseline race-, ethnicity-, and nativity-associated differences in mental health services in the context of primary care. Methods. Data were obtained from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS), a two-year panel study of healthcare use, satisfaction with care, and costs of services in the United States (US). We pooled data from six waves (14–19) of participants with serious psychological distress to examine racial, ethnic, and nativity disparities in medical and mental health visits to primary care (PC) and specialty mental health (SMH) providers around the time of ACA reforms, 2010–2015. Results. Of the 2747 respondents with serious psychological distress, 1316 were non-Latino White, 632 non-Latino Black, 532 identified as Latino with Mexican, Central American, or South American (MCS) origins, and 267 as Latino with Caribbean island origins; 525 were foreign/island born. All racial/ethnic groups were less likely than non-Latino Whites to have any PC visit. Of those who used PC, non-Latino Blacks were less likely than Whites to have a PC mental health visit, while foreign born MCS Latinos were less likely to visit an SMH provider. Conditional on any mental health visit, Latinos from the Caribbean were more likely than non-Latino Whites to visit SMH providers versus PC providers only, while non-Latino Blacks and US born MCS Latinos received fewer PC mental health visits than non-Latino Whites. Conclusion. Racial-, ethnic-, and nativity-associated disparities persist in PC provided mental health services.

Emotional Well-Being and Public Health: Proposal for a Model National Initiative

In 2011, the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council named mental and emotional well-being as 1 of 7 priority areas for the National Prevention Strategy. In this article, we discuss emotional well-being as a scientific concept and its relevance to public health. We review evidence that supports the association between emotional well-being and health. We propose a national emotional well-being initiative and describe its 6 components: systematic measurement of emotional well-being, identification of the drivers of emotional well-being, formation of partnerships with diverse stakeholders, implementation and dissemination of evidence-based interventions to promote emotional well-being and its drivers, development of public health messaging, and identification of and strategies to address disparities in emotional well-being and its drivers. Finally, we discuss ways in which a national emotional well-being initiative would complement current public health efforts and the potential challenges to such an initiative.

Improving Depression Care for Adults With Serious Mental Illness in Underresourced Areas: Community Coalitions Versus Technical Support

OBJECTIVE

Community Partners in Care (CPIC) was a group-randomized study of two approaches to implementing expanded collaborative depression care: Community Engagement and Planning (CEP), a coalition approach, and Resources for Services (RS), a technical assistance approach. Collaborative care networks in both arms involved health care and other agencies in five service sectors. This study examined six- and 12-month outcomes for CPIC participants with serious mental illness.

METHODS

This secondary analysis focused on low-income CPIC participants from racial-ethnic minority groups with serious mental illness in underresourced Los Angeles communities (N=504). Serious mental illness was defined as self-reported severe depression (≥20 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-8) at baseline or a lifetime history of bipolar disorder or psychosis. Logistic and Poisson regression with multiple imputation and response weights, controlling for covariates, was used to model intervention effects.

RESULTS

Among CPIC participants, 50% had serious mental illness. Among those with serious mental illness, CEP relative to RS reduced the likelihood of poor mental health-related quality of life (OR=.62, 95% CI=.41-.95) but not depression (primary outcomes); reduced the likelihood of having homelessness risk factors and behavioral health hospitalizations; increased the likelihood of mental wellness; reduced specialty mental health medication and counseling visits; and increased faith-based depression visits (each p<.05) at six months. There were no statistically significant 12-month effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that a coalition approach to implementing expanded collaborative depression care, compared with technical assistance to individual programs, may reduce short-term behavioral health hospitalizations and improve mental health-related quality of life and some social outcomes for adults with serious mental illness, although no evidence was found for long-term effects in this subsample.

Comparative Effectiveness of Coalitions Versus Technical Assistance for Depression Quality Improvement in Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions

SIGNIFICANCE

Prior research suggests that Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) for coalition support compared with Resources for Services (RS) for program technical assistance to implement depression quality improvement programs improves 6- and 12-month client mental-health related quality of life (MHRQL); however, effects for clients with multiple chronic medical conditions (MCC) are unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To explore effectiveness of CEP vs RS in MCC and non-MCC subgroups.

DESIGN

Secondary analyses of a cluster-randomized trial.

SETTING

93 health care and community-based programs in two neighborhoods.

PARTICIPANTS

Of 4,440 clients screened, 1,322 depressed (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ8) provided contact information, 1,246 enrolled and 1,018 (548 with ≥3 MCC) completed baseline, 6- or 12-month surveys.

INTERVENTION

CEP or RS for implementing depression quality improvement programs.

OUTCOMES AND ANALYSES

Primary: depression (PHQ9 <10), poor MHRQL (Short Form Health Survey, SF-12<40); Secondary: mental wellness, good physical health, behavioral health hospitalization, chronic homelessness risk, work/workloss days, services use at 6 and 12 months. End-point regressions were used to estimate intervention effects on outcomes for subgroups with ≥3 MCC, non-MCC, and intervention-by-MCC interactions (exploratory).

RESULTS

Among MCC clients at 6 months, CEP vs RS lowered likelihoods of depression and poor MHRQL; increased likelihood of mental wellness; reduced work-loss days among employed and likelihoods of ≥4 behavioral-health hospitalization nights and chronic homelessness risk, while increasing faith-based and park community center depression services; and at 12 months, likelihood of good physical health and park community center depression services use (each P<.05). There were no significant interactions or primary outcome effects for non-MCC.

CONCLUSIONS

CEP was more effective than RS in improving 6-month primary outcomes among depressed MCC clients, without significant interactions.

How Do Communities Use a Participatory Public Health Approach to Build Resilience? The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project

Community resilience is a key concept in the National Health Security Strategy that emphasizes development of multi-sector partnerships and equity through community engagement. Here, we describe the advancement of CR principles through community participatory methods in the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience (LACCDR) initiative. LACCDR, an initiative led by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with academic partners, randomized 16 community coalitions to implement either an Enhanced Standard Preparedness or Community Resilience approach over 24 months. Facilitated by a public health nurse or community educator, coalitions comprised government agencies, community-focused organizations and community members. We used thematic analysis of data from focus groups (n = 5) and interviews (n = 6 coalition members; n = 16 facilitators) to compare coalitions’ strategies for operationalizing community resilience levers of change (engagement, partnership, self-sufficiency, education). We find that strategies that included bidirectional learning helped coalitions understand and adopt resilience principles. Strategies that operationalized community resilience levers in mutually reinforcing ways (e.g., disseminating information while strengthening partnerships) also secured commitment to resilience principles. We review additional challenges and successes in achieving cross-sector collaboration and engaging at-risk groups in the resilience versus preparedness coalitions. The LACCDR example can inform strategies for uptake and implementation of community resilience and uptake of the resilience concept and methods.

An Overview of Research and Evaluation Designs for Dissemination and Implementation

The wide variety of dissemination and implementation designs now being used to evaluate and improve health systems and outcomes warrants review of the scope, features, and limitations of these designs. This article is one product of a design workgroup that was formed in 2013 by the National Institutes of Health to address dissemination and implementation research, and whose members represented diverse methodologic backgrounds, content focus areas, and health sectors. These experts integrated their collective knowledge on dissemination and implementation designs with searches of published evaluations strategies. This article emphasizes randomized and nonrandomized designs for the traditional translational research continuum or pipeline, which builds on existing efficacy and effectiveness trials to examine how one or more evidence-based clinical/prevention interventions are adopted, scaled up, and sustained in community or service delivery systems. We also mention other designs, including hybrid designs that combine effectiveness and implementation research, quality improvement designs for local knowledge, and designs that use simulation modeling.