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OBJECTIVES/GOALS: We seek to describe the challenges to mental healthcare access and utilization among Somali refugees in Minnesota. The objectives of this study are 1) to characterize beliefs and attitudes about mental illness and 2) identify barriers, either personally experienced or perceived, to utilizing mental health services among Somali refugees. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Mental health challenges are of particular concern among Somali refugees, who have been found to have rates of PTSD as high as 50%. However, Somali refugees are reported to underutilize mental healthcare. We will recruit 20-25 Somali refugee women and men, who are 18 years or older and reside in the Twin Cities, to participate in one on one interviews. Participants will be asked about their perception of barriers to mental healthcare services, and their beliefs about mental illness and treatment. We will transcribe the interviews, code them, and identify key themes. A community advisory board will be directly involved in the research design, recruitment, interview instrument development, interpretation of findings, and dissemination of project materials as part of our community engagement protocol. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: When completed we expect to identify mental health beliefs and barriers to mental healthcare utilization. The long-term goal of this work is to reduce the substantial mental health morbidity among Somali refugees. Common barriers to research participation that we expect are mistrust, financial constraints, fear of unintended outcomes, stigma about participating in research, and fear of deportation or concern of immigration status. We plan to address these barriers by hiring bilingual Somali recruiter/interviewer, translating study materials, reassuring confidentiality of participant’s information, providing a $50 incentive, and implementing community advisory board’s input on study design and recruitment sites. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Translational Impact: Findings from interviews will be disseminated and evaluated by members of the community and providers. Recommendations based on our findings can be applied in mental healthcare practice to reduce identified barriers. Community dissemination can also promote the destigmatization of mental healthcare in the Somali community.

Objective: A growing body of literature suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic stressor capable of causing posttraumatic stress symptoms. People with a history of trauma, particularly those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may be particularly vulnerable to the negative mental health impacts of the pandemic. However, qualitative research exploring potential differences in the lived experiences of and reactions to COVID-19 between people with and without PTSD is lacking. Method: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 31 women (n = 15 women with probable PTSD, n = 16 women without probable PTSD) recruited from an ongoing U.S.-based cohort study. Themes were identified using inductive thematic analysis. Results: The majority of women with PTSD described their level of fear or perceived safety related to COVID-19 as a major factor influencing their mental health during the pandemic. In contrast, women without PTSD indicated that their level of distress was largely driven by pandemic-related restrictions on normal activities and family events. Many women with PTSD also described feeling anger or frustration toward people they perceived as not taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously. Only one participant without PTSD expressed similar feelings. Conclusions: This study found notable differences in reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic between people with and without PTSD, with findings that are likely relevant to future disasters. These findings can inform the development of preparedness policies for future disasters, pandemics, or other collective traumas to prevent distress and improve mental health, particularly for vulnerable populations such as individuals with preexisting PTSD. Clinical Impact StatementFindings from this study can inform the development of preparedness policies for future disasters or pandemics to prevent distress and improve mental health. Our results suggest that people with preexisting posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may particularly benefit from resources and messaging campaigns that emphasize the ability of individuals to protect themselves and their loved ones to reduce fear and feelings of helplessness. People without PTSD might benefit more from resources that support social interactions or provide information on how to replicate the activities they are missing while still being mindful of the need to prevent COVID-19 transmission.