Partnering with African American Churches to Create a Community Coalition for Mental Health

Abstract

Community partnered participatory research (CPPR) emphasizes community engagement, respect, and empowerment as guiding principles to promote mental health equity. This article describes the "Vision" stage of a CPPR-informed model to implement evidence-based practices for depression in two African American churches in Harlem, New York. Essential parts of the Vision include engagement of stakeholders and collaborative planning. The engagement process increased awareness about the project via a community-focused mental health symposium. The collaborative planning stage resulted in creating a multi-disciplinary Community Coalition for Mental Health, establishing the Coalition's values, agreeing to change the initial chosen study intervention from Interpersonal Counseling to Mental Health First Aid, and developing a website to disseminate the group's work. Key lessons learned from our partnered process are: 1) support from the lead pastor is crucial; 2) balancing community and academic interests can be challenging; 3) icebreaker activities foster relationships and reinforce CPPR principles; 4) multiple communication channels can enhance community participation; and, 5) should organize data in ways that make them easier to interpret.

Community Interventions to Promote Mental Health and Social Equity

“…The community interventions above (Appendix A ), drawn from a larger selection (Appendix B ), highlight the successes and promise of these interventions to promote mental health and broader outcomes at all social-ecological levels: individual, interpersonal/family, organizational/institutional, community, and policy [ 3 ]. Community involvement is represented in varied ways in the form of individuals (lay health workers), settings (churches, schools), leaders (community-based participatory research), and multi-sector coalitions [ 35 •, 37 , 38 , 39 •, 85 •, 86 – 90 , 91 •, 103 •]. Many studies examined the interplay among mental health services, social and structural determinants, and mental health outcomes.…”

“…A third group of interventions functioned at the organizational/institutional level by enhancing the processes by which non-healthcare programs serve those with mental illness. These interventions enlisted non-healthcare entities and trusted community leaders to be active in mental healthcare, such as providing a depression screening intervention in churches [ 38 , 39 •]. Several successful school-based interventions operated at the organizational level, such as Warschburger and Zitzmann’s universal school-based prevention program for eating disorders in Germany and other whole school approaches [ 111 , 112 ].…”

“…Since CPIC, only a handful of collaborative care studies have included non-healthcare partners [ 36 – 38 , 39 •]. Hankerson et al conducted depression screenings in three predominantly African American Christian “mega churches” (≥ 2000 worshippers per weekend) in New York City, using a community coalition approach, including faith-based organizations and local government [ 38 ].…”

“…Notably, 19.7% of those screened reported moderate depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 10), in which the authors noted is higher than is seen in African American community samples. Moreover, none of the participants who screened positive requested community mental health referrals, even though these were offered, demonstrating the importance of churches as sites for depression screening, counseling (i.e., Mental Health First Aid), and referral [ 38 , 39 •].…”

Editorial: Developments in Community Partnered Participatory Research for Behavioral Health

“…For reach of CPPR into alternative contexts, Hankerson et al 35 describe application of CPPR for addressing mental health issues in African American churches in New York City, while Izquierdo et al 36 describe a pilot study of applying this approach to African American Veterans. In addition, Edge and Grey 37 describe development of a family intervention for African Caribbeans diagnosed with schizophrenia.…”