Lessons Learned from Rapid Community Needs Assessment in the African American Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: With the accelerated spread of COVID-19 and current shelter-in-place orders from many local governments, African American (AA) communities see to be more vulnerable as emerging data show disproportionate rates of infection and mortality among AAs across the nation. OBJECTIVES: In a sample of AA church members, to conduct a rapid community assessment during the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHODS: Our community-based participatory research team, partnering with the local AA church community and including trained lay health workers, conducted the assessment via telephone and online. RESULTS: Although most participants reported high confidence regarding recommendations for physical distancing, more than 60% reported elevated anxiety and stress, and 10% indicated that they needed more information about staying healthy and safe during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based participatory research with lay health workers is an effective method to implement a community needs assessment, problem-solve with community members, and build community health infrastructure during a public health crisis.

African American men who become mental health advocates.

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

Recognizing the Risk Factors, Signs, and Symptoms of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in Mental Health Clinical Practice.

The purpose of the current article is to educate psychiatric providers on domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). Psychiatric providers (e.g., psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, physician assistants, therapists, case managers) interact with victims of sex trafficking but may fail to recognize the signs of victimization and the risk factors associated with becoming a victim of DMST. This educational article offers an overview of the definitions of sex trafficking, and the risk factors, prevalence, and health consequences of DMST. It also summarizes what is known about how those at-risk for DMST and DMST victims interact with the mental health care system. Mental health professionals provide a crucial point of contact with these populations and must strive to prevent, identify, and respond to DMST and at-risk youths. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 58(11), 21-28.].

HERO Wellness Scale: Examining a new mental wellness scale.

BACKGROUND: Mental wellness has traditionally not been tracked by mental health clinicians. The aim is to examine the reliability and validity of the HERO Wellness Scale. METHODS: Eighty-four college students (age ≥18) with and without psychiatric morbidity from a small, private college in the north-central United States enrolled in the WILD 5 Wellness Program-a longitudinal, quasi-experimental clinical trial that included 2 groups (intervention and waitlist). Mental wellness scores at the beginning of the WILD 5 intervention were assessed by the HERO Wellness Scale and the World Health Organization-Five (WHO-5) Well-Being Index. RESULTS: Internal consistency was calculated from baseline data (N = 84) using Cronbach's alpha for the 5-item HERO composite = .93. The corrected item-total correlations were adequate (>.50), ranging from .67 (resilience) to .86 (mental wellness). The HERO Wellness Scale covers a representative sample of the domain of wellness. It diverges from WHO-5 items by specifically assessing for well-established positive psychology traits such as happiness, enthusiasm, resilience, and optimism. CONCLUSIONS: The HERO Wellness Scale showed good validity and reliability, and should be considered for individual-level assessment of mental wellness. The HERO Wellness Scale adds to the body of knowledge in psychiatry, nursing, and psychology.