Results from a community mental health assessment in a historically black church: A call for action.

Results from a community mental health assessment in a historically black church: A call for action. J Prev Interv Community. 2019 Aug 28;:1-16 Authors: Ormond A, Barbour R, Lewis RK, Montgomery A, Ponds A Abstract African Americans' rates of mental illness are similar to those of the general population, however, their rates of utilization of any mental health service is lower than many other ethnic/racial groups, specifically, non-Hispanic, Whites. Many African Americans do not receive adequate treatment for mental health issues due to several barriers to help-seeking behavior. Despite these barriers, African American communities have traditionally sought support from pastors or ministers of historically black churches in times of crises or when experiencing mental health issues. Research has shown that African Americans rely on faith, family, and their churches for emotional support rather than turning to health care professionals. To address the stigma of mental health and identify barriers to seeking mental health care in African American communities in Wichita, KS, a local Wichita historically black church, developed and hosted a mental/emotional health awareness conference. Approximately 30% of the 249 participants who attended the conference were surveyed to assess conference impact, conference satisfaction, and barriers to seeking mental health services. Results indicated approximately 37% of those surveyed lived in lower-inc...
Source: Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: J Prev Interv Community Source Type: research