From Community Voice to Clinical Practice: Developing an Interprofessional Mental Health Assessment Tool Through Community-Based Participatory Research

Abstract

Introduction    

The psychiatric-mental health crisis is a significant public health problem in the United States and requires an innovative approach for early identification and timely access to services.  The need for services is high for populations experiencing multiple stressors and disproportionate challenges related to social determinants of health.    

To address this crisis, an interprofessional academic-community partnership developed a community-based participatory research study to identify and understand the psychiatric-mental health needs of community members receiving services at an urban safety net healthcare clinic located within a community center. The healthcare clinic serves a diverse population that faces systemic barriers related to ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status. This community experiences risk factors for psychiatric-mental health conditions, including exposure to adverse life experiences, co-occurring medical conditions, limited access to services, and under-resourced support systems. 

Hypothesis 

Engaging community members as partners with an interprofessional team, focused on understanding the community’s priority psychiatric-mental health needs, is a foundational step in early identification and timely referrals. This approach will increase interprofessional healthcare referrals and access to services, leading to improved outcomes.   

Methods   

A two-phased design utilizing individual surveys and subsequent focus groups was completed. The project team designed a survey capitalizing on their multidisciplinary perspectives, with feedback from the community. The survey was offered to individuals seeking care and services at the clinic and at the community center in English and four other languages. Individuals completing the survey were then invited to attend culturally and linguistically specific focus groups with interpreters to further discuss experiences.    

 Results    

Individual surveys (301) and focus groups (6) were completed. Resulting themes included the importance of defining healthcare teams, bridging service gaps, connection between physical and mental health, importance of privacy, confidentiality, trust, sincerity, and dependability.  Barriers included language and cultural variances, access, and affordability. Data analysis informed the development of interprofessional psychiatric-mental health assessment tool.  

 Conclusions

The community-engaged approach was instrumental to identifying the comprehensive interprofessional psychiatric mental health needs and related social determinants of health experienced by community members. This methodology resulted in the successful development of an evidence-based, community-informed psychiatric-mental health assessment tool for improving access to services.