Description

Conduct a community mental assessment for a chosen population. Prioritize needs and determine a focus for mental health education and promotion. Throughout, consider the role of socioecological factors.

To the left appears the logic model for the process. You'll follow all steps except #5. Instead, you'll examine community capacity to promote mental health. [Logic model fromMcKenzie, Neiger, B. L., & Thackeray (2003)]

Purpose

• Gather and interpret data for mental health promotion research, policy, or practice.
• Explain the socioecological factors impacting mental health across the lifespan.

Procedure

For this activity,imagine you are a health education specialist working for a county health department or with a school district. They have invited you to conduct a community mental health assessment to guide future mental health education and promotion activities. Currently, they only have funding to focus on one age group. Choose one of the following age groups as your priority population: 1) children and adolescents, 2) adults, or 3) older adults. For this assignment and the remainder of the course, you will focus on this population. Choose one meaningful to you!

Respond to each step below. The format is more "question and answer" than an essay. Before submitting your work,deletethe directions andexamples to make it look professional, but keep the steps as subheadings so your instructor knows what you are responding to!

Step 1 - Determine the purpose, scope, and objectives

Identify your priority population by age and geographic location by county and state (because we will use county and state data!). Then, make a plan for what you want to learn from your data collection and how you will use the findings. Below in red font italics is an example. Feel free to copy the format.

Purpose and Scope: To better understand mental health among children and adolescents, particularly in Kane County, IL, and why it is vital to address it.

Objectives

1) To identify the mental health status and prevalence of mental illness among children and adolescents

2) To identify and describe the kinds of mental illness or poor mental health conditions among children and adolescents

3) To identify the risk factors that contribute to poor mental health and mental illness in general

4) To identify the socioecological factors that support mental health in general

5) To identify the county's capacity to support mental health education and promotion interventions

Step 2 - Gather data.

Ideally, you would use primaryand secondary data, but for this assignment, you will only use secondary data. (i.e., data already collected). Collect data and information from these secondary sources to meet Objectives 1-4 in Step 1.

1. KFF's (Kaiser Family Foundation)Mental Health and Substance Use Indicator'swebpage
2. NAMI's (National Alliance on Mental Illness)State Fact Sheetswebpage
3. NIH's (National Institute of Health)National Mental Health Survey'swebpage - Scroll down to Data Review and State Profile menus)
4. NIMH's (National Institute of Mental Health)Statisticswebpage - Choose mental illness (not specific conditions)
5. Medline Plus'Mental Health topic webpage - In theFor You section, jump to your chosen population age group. Then click the appropriate link for more information about mental health and that age group. (For adults, choose either men or women to get adult data.
6. Healthy People 2030webpage - In the Search box, type "mental health." Select the topic pick. Refine your search by categories from the side-bar menu (e.g., social determinants of health)
7. County Health Rankingswebpage - From theExplore Health Ratingsdrop-down, selectFind Data. Then, search for your selected county.
8. CDC'sMental Healthwebpage- Explore multiple categories for what you need
9. Two additional sources of your choosing while searching the words "mental health" and your chosen population age group (i.e., children and adolescents, adults, or older adults). Choose these after you've collected data from the sources above so you know where your data and information gaps are.

The suggestions about where to look on each page are just a starting point. You might find additional information on these sources' websites that meet your objectives. Organize your data into a table like the table below. Insert your findings like the examples in italicized red font.

	Obj 1: Mental health conditions and illness prevalence	Obj 2: Kinds of mental illness or poor mental health	Obj 3: Risk factors	Obj 4: Socioecological factors
KFF
NAMI
NIMH
Medline Plus		Loneliness, depression
Healthy People
County Health Rankings	In Kane County, 5.9% of adults aged 50 years + experienced 5+ poor mental health days in 2020.
CDC
Additional source #1:
Additional source #2:

Step 3- Analyze the data

Analyze the data to understand better the mental health your chosen population experiences, including the prevalence of mental illness or poor health, mental health problems, and the most pressing health concerns.Summarize your key findings in neat paragraphs. Your summary should reflect that you have critically read and contextually analyzed the data and information in relevant ways. Also, cite the data's source within the text of your writing For example: (KFF, 2021)

Step 4 - Identify socioecological factors

This step is also part of the analysis but focuses more on socioecological factors. Clarify what socioecological factors negatively or positively impact the mental health of your chosen age group (or any age group if you don't have age-specific data). Summarize your key findings in complete sentences. Cite your sources. Your summary should reflect that you have critically read and contextually analyzed the data and information in relevant ways.

Step 5 - Identify community capacity

Identify 3-5 potential community organizations with whom you could partner to deliver mental health education and promotion for your selected age group living in your selected county. An easy starting place is Google! For example, these would be search terms if you were looking in Kane County: "mental health resources kane county il." You might consider replacing the word "resources" with "organizations," "agencies," "services," or similar terms. You might also include your population (e.g., children and adolescents.)

List the 3-5 organizations you found. Include their name and provide their website. For each, explain how they could be a potential partner.

Step 6 - Validating the prioritized need and capacity

Now it's time to summarize everything you have learned! In 5-6 sentences:

• Identify yourpopulation and selected county.
• Identify their mental health status and primary concerns.
• Explain why the concerns are important to address
• Identify the primary socioecological risk and protective factors
• Identify potential community partners.

Assignment Submission Directions

1. Remove my directions. Your work should look professional. Keep clarifying headings and prompts that identify what items are.
2. Include all group members' names at the top of the document and the name of the assignment.
3. Use Arial, Times New Roman, or a similar font style; use 10, 11, or 12-point font.
4. Double or single-spaced is fine.
5. Cite all sources using APA format. How can I do that?
   1. OWL:In-Text Citation Guide
   2. OWL:Reference List Rules
6. Paste a link to your Google Doc in the appropriate D2L Assignments folder. Make sure it is SHARED with anyone in NMAIL as a Commentor or Editor. If you don't do this, I can't see it!