Engaging the Faith Community in Designing a Church-Based Mental Health Screening and Linkage to Care Intervention

Authors

  • Jannette Berkley-Patton, Ph.D. University of Missouri - Kansas City, School of Medicine
  • Carole Bowe Thompson, B.S. University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine
  • Joah Williams, Ph.D. University of Missouri – Kansas City, Department of Psychology
  • Kelsey Christensen, M.A. University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine
  • Rev. Cassandra Wainwright Calvary Community Outreach Network
  • Rev. Eric Williams Calvary Community Outreach Network
  • Andrea Bradley-Ewing, M.A., M.S. Children's Mercy Kansas City, Health Services and Outcomes Research
  • Alexandria Bauer, Ph.D. Rutgers University, Center of Alcohol & Substance Abuse Use Studies
  • Jennifer Allsworth, Ph.D. University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18060/24059

Keywords:

mental health, African Americans, mental health screening, linkage to care, churches

Abstract

African Americans are disproportionately burdened by mental health issues (e.g., stress, chronic depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder). Upon review of mental health local/state/national data, a highly-engaged faith-based Community Action Board (CAB) raised concerns about the mental health needs of African Americans and addressed mental health as a priority health area in African American Kansas City churches. African Americans tend to experience barriers to mental health services (e.g., limited access, high cost, mental health-related stigma, non-culturally tailored mental health care). African American churches have many strengths that could increase reach, acceptability feasibility, and impact of mental health interventions tailored for African Americans. The CAB conducted a health needs assessment survey (N=463; 11 churches) to identify health concerns and potential strategies to inform the design of a church-based mental health intervention. Using a faith-community-engaged approach, the CAB developed the survey and used its findings to design a religiously-tailored, multilevel mental health intervention focused on prevention, screening, and linkage to care. The needs assessment identified intervention strategies (e.g., church-based screening, stress reduction/exercise programs, pastors promoting mental health) that were: (1) rated as highly important/feasible to implement, (2) included in the intervention design, and (3) successfully implemented in African American churches by faith leaders and university students and faculty.

Author Biographies

Jannette Berkley-Patton, Ph.D., University of Missouri - Kansas City, School of Medicine

Dr. Berkley-Patton is a professor in the UMKC School of Medicine’s Department of Biomedical and Health informatics. She received both her master’s degree in human development and family life, and a doctorate in developmental psychology HIV/AIDS at the University of Kansas. She joined the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2005 in a postdoctoral fellowship position founded by the National Institute of Mental Health in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Berkley-Patton received a tenure as an associate professor in the UMKC Department of Psychology, where she still remains as an adjunct. She leads the unconquered path of African American and community health research for the UMKC School of Medicine faculty. One of her noted research projects, Taking It to the Pews, was funded with a $3.2 million dollar grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to assess HIV testing. She is the director of the UMKC Community Health Research Group, which supports collaborative community research, and provides doctoral and undergraduate training in community participatory research.

Dr. Berkley-Patton has been awarded many honors and professional memberships, including the Heartland Health Network and the National institute of Minority Health and health Disparities. She is a reviewer for both the University of Missouri Research Board and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she helps improve public health practices through translational research.

Carole Bowe Thompson, B.S., University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine

Carole Bowe Thompson is the Project Director of the Community Health Research Group at University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine. 

Joah Williams, Ph.D. , University of Missouri – Kansas City, Department of Psychology

Dr. Williams’ research focuses on psychosocial and health consequences of trauma exposure across the lifespan. In particular, he is interested in the development and evaluation of traumatic stress prevention and early intervention programs.

Kelsey Christensen, M.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine

Kelsey Christensen, M.A., is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Candidate at University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Rev. Cassandra Wainwright , Calvary Community Outreach Network

Pastor Sandy Wainwright is the Program Director of Calvary Community Outreach Network.

Rev. Eric Williams , Calvary Community Outreach Network

Rev. Eric Williams is the Founder and CEO of Calvary Community Outreach Network

Alexandria Bauer, Ph.D., Rutgers University, Center of Alcohol & Substance Abuse Use Studies

Dr. Bauer received her BA in Psychology from San Diego State University in 2013, after transferring from community college, and she earned both her master’s degree and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She completed her predoctoral clinical internship at the Charleston Consortium in Charleston, SC, where she trained in rotations focused on trauma and cognitive-behavioral interventions. Dr. Bauer’s research interests include understanding and addressing health disparities that burden Black/African American and other racial/ethnic minority populations, particularly using community-based participatory research strategies.

Jennifer Allsworth, Ph.D., University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine

Jenifer Allsworth, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2010). 2010 National Healthcare Disparities Report, Rockville, MD. Retrieved from https://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhdr10/index.html

Bauer, A. G., Berkley-Patton, J., Bennett, K., Catley, D., Bowe-Thompson, C., Lister, S., & Christensen, K. (2019). Dietary Intake Among Church-Affiliated African Americans: The Role of Intentions and Beliefs. Journal of Black Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798419887629

Berkley-Patton, J., Bowe Thompson, C., Bauer, A. G., Berman, M., Bradley-Ewing, A., Goggin, K., ...Allsworth, J. E. (2020). A Multilevel Diabetes and CVD Risk Reduction Intervention in African American Churches: Project Faith Influencing Transformation (FIT) Feasibility and Outcomes. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00740-8

Berkley-Patton, J., Thompson, C. B., Bradley-Ewing, A., Marcie, B., Booker, A., Catley, D., … Petty, T. (2018). Identifying health conditions, priorities, and relevant multilevel health promotion intervention strategies in African American churches: A faith community health needs assessment. Evaluation and Program Planning, 67, 19. https://doi.og/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2017.10.012

Briggs, H. E., Briggs, A. C., Miller, K. M., & Paulson, R. I. (2011). Combating persistent cultural incompetence in mental health care systems serving African Americans. Best Practices in Mental Health, 7(2), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109914531957

Bronfenbrenner U. The ecology of human development: Experiments by design and nature. In: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1979.

Brown, J. A. (2004). African American church goers' attitudes toward treatment seeking from mental health and religious sources: The role of spirituality, cultural mistrust, and stigma toward mental illness. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,

Burton, W. M., White, A. N., & Knowlden, A. P. (2017). A systematic review of culturally tailored obesity interventions among African American adults. American Journal of Health Education, 48(3), 185-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2017.1292876

Campbell, M. K., Hudson, M. A., Resnicow, K., Blakeney, N., Paxton, A., & Baskin, M. (2007). Church-based health promotion interventions: evidence and lessons learned. Annu. Rev. Public Health, 28, 213-234. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.28.021406.144016

Caret, R. L. (2019). Social responsibility and civic readiness as critical higher education outcomes. Metropolitan Universities, 30(4), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.18060/23551

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2015). Behavioral health trends in the United States: results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. HHS Publication No. SMA 15-4927, NSDUH Series H-50. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/

Chatters, L. M., Mattis, J. S., Woodward, A. T., Taylor, R. J., Neighbors, H. W., & Grayman, N. A. (2011). Use of ministers for a serious personal problem among African Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(1), 118-127. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01079.x

Christensen, K., Berkley-Patton, J., Shah, B., Aduloju-Ajijola, N., Bauer, A. G., Bowe Thompson, C., & Lister, S. (2020). HIV risk and sociodemographic factors associated with physician-advised HIV testing: What factors are overlooked in African American populations? . Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 7(1), 121-128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-019-00641-5

Clements, J. M., West, B. T., Yaker, Z., Lauinger, B., McCullers, D., Haubert, J., . . . Everett, G. J. (2020). Disparities in diabetes-related multiple chronic conditions and mortality: The influence of race. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 159, 107984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2019.107984

Cochrane, J. R. (2006). Conceptualising religious health assets redemptively. Religion and Theology, 13(1), 107-120. https://doi.org/10.1163/102308012X13397496507900

Compton, M. T., Thompson, N. J., & Kaslow, N. J. (2005). Social environment factors associated with suicide attempt among low-income African Americans: The protective role of family relationships and social support. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 40(3), 175-185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-005-0865-6

Corrigan, P. W. (2020). Community-based participatory research (CBPR), stigma, and health. Stigma and Health, 5(2), 123. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000175

Cruz, M., Pincus, H. A., Harman, J., Reynolds III, C. F., & Post, E. P. (2008). Barriers to care-seeking for depressed African Americans. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 38(1), 71-80. https://doi.org/10.2190/PM.38.1.g

Delphin-Rittmon, M. E., Flanagan, E. H., Andres-Hyman, R., Ortiz, J., Amer, M. M., & Davidson, L. (2015). Racial-ethnic differences in access, diagnosis, and outcomes in public-sector inpatient mental health treatment. Psychological Services, 12(2), 158. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038858

Derose, K. P., Williams, M. V., Branch, C. A., Flórez, K. R., Hawes-Dawson, J., Mata, M. A., . . . Wong, E. C. (2019). A community-partnered approach to developing church-based interventions to reduce health disparities among African-Americans and Latinos. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 6(2), 254-264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-018-0520-z

Glasgow, R. E., McKay, H. G., Piette, J. D., & Reynolds, K. D. (2001). The RE-AIM framework for evaluating interventions: what can it tell us about approaches to chronic illness management? Patient education and counseling, 44(2), 119-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0738-3991(00)00186-5

González, H. M., Tarraf, W., Whitfield, K. E., & Vega, W. A. (2010). The epidemiology of major depression and ethnicity in the United States. Journal of psychiatric research, 44(15), 1043-1051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.03.017

Hankerson, S. H., Fenton, M. C., Geier, T. J., Keyes, K. M., Weissman, M. M., & Hasin, D. S. (2011). Racial differences in symptoms, comorbidity, and treatment for major depressive disorder among black and white adults. Journal of the national medical association, 103(7), 576-584. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0027-9684(15)30383-7

Himle, J. A., Baser, R. E., Taylor, R. J., Campbell, R. D., & Jackson, J. S. (2009). Anxiety disorders among African Americans, blacks of Caribbean descent, and non-Hispanic whites in the United States. Journal of anxiety disorders, 23(5), 578-590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.01.002

Hollingsworth, D. W., Cole, A. B., O'Keefe, V. M., Tucker, R. P., Story, C. R., & Wingate, L. R. (2017). Experiencing racial microaggressions influences suicide ideation through perceived burdensomeness in African Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(1), 104. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000177

Howard, G., Moy, C. S., Howard, V. J., McClure, L. A., Kleindorfer, D. O., Kissela, B. M., . . . Safford, M. M. (2016). Where to Focus Efforts to Reduce the Black–White Disparity in Stroke Mortality: Incidence Versus Case Fatality? Stroke, 47(7), 1893-1898. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.115.012631

Hudson, D. L., Neighbors, H. W., Geronimus, A. T., & Jackson, J. S. (2016). Racial discrimination, John Henryism, and depression among African Americans. Journal of Black psychology, 42(3), 221-243.https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798414567757

Idler, E., Levin, J., VanderWeele, T. J., & Khan, A. (2019). Partnerships between public health agencies and faith communities. American Journal of Public Health, 109(3), 346-347. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304941

Israel, B. A., Eng, E., Schulz, A. J., & Parker, E. A. (2013). Methods for community-based participatory research for health. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.

Kasper, J. D., Ensminger, M. E., Green, K. M., Fothergill, K. E., Juon, H.-S., Robertson, J., & Thorpe, R. J. (2008). Effects of poverty and family stress over three decades on the functional status of older African American women. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 63(4), S201-S210.https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/63.4.S201

Lucas, T., Manning, M., Hayman, L. W., & Blessman, J. (2018). Targeting and tailoring message-framing: the moderating effect of racial identity on receptivity to colorectal cancer screening among African–Americans. Journal of behavioral medicine, 41(6), 747-756. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-018-9933-8

Mezuk, B., Rafferty, J. A., Kershaw, K. N., Hudson, D., Abdou, C. M., Lee, H., . . . Jackson, J. S. (2010). Reconsidering the role of social disadvantage in physical and mental health: stressful life events, health behaviors, race, and depression. American journal of epidemiology, 172(11), 1238-1249. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwq283

Michalak, E. E., Jones, S., Lobban, F., Algorta, G. P., Barnes, S. J., Berk, L., . . . Maxwell, V. (2016). Harnessing the potential of community-based participatory research approaches in bipolar disorder. International journal of bipolar disorders, 4(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40345-016-0045-5

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2016). Why faith is so important for African American mental health. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/February-2016/Why-Faith-Is-Important-to-African-American-Mental

National Center for Health Statistics. (NCHS; 2016a). Health, United States, 2015: With special feature on racial and ethnic health disparities Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus15.pdf

National Center for Health Statistics. (NCHS; 2016b). Summary health statistics: National health interview survey: 2014, Table A-7. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm.

Patton, D. U., Woolley, M. E., & Hong, J. S. (2012). Exposure to violence, student fear, and low academic achievement: African American males in the critical transition to high school. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(2), 388-395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.11.009

Peterson, T. H. (2014). Reviving and revising the civic mission: A radical re-imagining of "civic engagement." Metropolitan Universities, 25(3), 17-30. Retrieved from: https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/muj/article/view/20579/20179

Pew Research Center. (2015). American’s changing religious landscape. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/05/RLS-05-08-full-report.pdf

Plummer, B. (2012). The cost of untreated mental illness in greater Kansas City Retrieved from https://healthforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/overview-cost-untreated-illness-greater-kansas-city.pdf

Resnicow, K., Campbell, M. K., Carr, C., McCarty, F., Wang, T., Periasamy, S., . . . Stables, G. (2004). Body and soul: a dietary intervention conducted through African-American churches. American journal of preventive medicine, 27(2), 97-105.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2004.04.009

Rogers, G. (2007). Exploring the relationship between religiosity and attitudes towards seeking mental health help among African American churchgoers.

SAMHSA. (2015). Results from the 2014 national survey on drug use and health: Mental health detailed tables. Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/population-data-nsduh/reports?tab=38.

Sattin, R. W., Williams, L. B., Dias, J., Garvin, J. T., Marion, L., Joshua, T. V., . . . Narayan, K. V. (2016). Community trial of a faith-based lifestyle intervention to prevent diabetes among African-Americans. Journal of community health, 41(1), 87-96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0071-8

Sharma, A. (2000). A community needs assessment guide: A brief guide on how to conduct a needs assessment: Loyola University Chicago Center for Urban Research and Learning.

Ward, E., Wiltshire, J. C., Detry, M. A., & Brown, R. L. (2013). African American men and women's attitude toward mental illness, perceptions of stigma, and preferred coping behaviors. Nursing research, 62(3), 185. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0b013e31827bf533

Ward, E. C., Clark, L. O., & Heidrich, S. (2009). African American women’s beliefs, coping behaviors, and barriers to seeking mental health services. Qualitative health research, 19(11), 1589-1601. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732309350686

Watkins, D. C., Assari, S., & Johnson-Lawrence, V. (2015). Race and ethnic group differences in comorbid major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and chronic medical conditions. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 2(3), 385-394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-015-0085-z

Williams, D. R., Gonzalez, H. M., Neighbors, H., Nesse, R., Abelson, J. M., Sweetman, J., & Jackson, J. S. (2007). Prevalence and distribution of major depressive disorder in African Americans, Caribbean blacks, and non-Hispanic whites: results from the National Survey of American Life. Archives of general psychiatry, 64(3), 305-315.https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.64.3.305

Williams, D. R., & Mohammed, S. A. (2009). Discrimination and racial disparities in health: evidence and needed research. Journal of behavioral medicine, 32(1), 20-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-008-9185-0

Cover Image Thumbanil

Downloads

Published

2021-02-15

Issue

Vol. 32 No. 1 (2021)

Section

Research Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Jannette Berkley-Patton, Ph.D., Carole Bowe Thompson, Dr. Joah Williams, Kelsey Christensen, Cassandra Wainwright , Rev. Eric Williams , Andrea Bradley-Ewing, Alexandria Bauer, Dr. Jenifer Allsworth

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.