GREETINGS
NIMH Director Thomas Insel, MD
It was great to see all of you in August at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the NIMH Outreach Partnership Program (OPP), especially since this was my last opportunity to meet with you as NIMH Director before my departure from the Institute in November.
I have always appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from you about what is going on in your communities, and how the research the Institute supports can make the biggest impact for the individuals and families affected by mental illness. Thank you for your thoughtful feedback and for your efforts to disseminate NIMH science to your communities. This "special issue" of Outreach Connection is dedicated to your efforts, which were showcased at the meeting.
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MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Representatives from the Outreach and National Partner organizations met on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus at the new Porter Neuroscience Research Center for the NIMH OPP's 2015 annual meeting to hear updates from NIMH and NIMH-supported researchers and to learn from their fellow partners.
As one Partner noted, "this conference always provides information on trends and emerging knowledge which we use to keep our educational outreach relevant."
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Dr. Insel gave an update on the state of mental health research. National Council for Behavioral Health Executive Director Linda Rosenberg delivered the keynote address about the current mental health landscape, including implementation of parity and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, and issues on the horizon for the mental health field. In addition, Partners heard updates on the NIMH Recovery After An Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) and Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET) research initiatives, suicide prevention efforts in healthcare settings, and efforts to engage the public in research by promoting participation in clinical studies, with a focus on the need for greater involvement of racial and ethnic minority populations.
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Over 30 Partners and other organizations shared their education and outreach activities in the Partner Sharing Session, a hands-on opportunity to learn how others are disseminating research and educating the public in their states.
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The Mental Health Association Oklahoma highlighted its upcoming Zarrow Mental Health Symposium, an annual educational forum.
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NAMI Ohio shared information about its recent conference, which focused on the need to address the overrepresentation of individuals with mental illness in Ohio’s criminal justice system.
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The Institute for Psychological Research at the University of Puerto Rico describes how it is implementing the "Programa de Alcance Comunitario" (Outreach Partnership Program) in Puerto Rico.
Meeting participants highlighted the mental health needs of perinatal women in a breakout session and the Sharing Session.
In addition to sharing MHA of Georgia's efforts in the Sharing Session, Sarah Schwartz began the breakout session by providing an overview about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and how the Healthy Moms project is addressing the issue in Georgia.
In addition, NIMH staff described a new initiative, Mental Health Across the Lifespan, a partnership with the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, which seeks to raise awareness about issues affecting women and their families throughout the lifespan, including postpartum depression. A new video about postpartum depression was debuted for the partners.
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Postpartum Support International shares their activities supporting postpartum women, their family members, and providers.
Outreach Partners and Federal staff used a breakout session and the Sharing Session to discuss outreach activities and strategies for reaching immigrant and refugee populations.
NAMI New Jersey highlights its Chinese American Mental Health Outreach Program's offering of the NAMI Family-to-Family Course in Chinese.
PK Subedi from the Administration on Children and Families Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) kicked off the breakout session by providing an overview about the status of refugees in the United States and the particular mental health needs of these communities. He shared how ORR is addressing these needs, and highlighted a video series created to help prevent suicide among Bhutanese refugees.
The breakout also featured Erica Shehane and Dorothy Vaivao from the Southern California Outreach Partner, Special Service for Groups, who described their outreach efforts to Korean and Samoan immigrants as well as Ana Maria Sawyer who presented about NAMI Alabama's educational activities with Hispanic and Asian immigrant communities in the state, including agricultural migrant workers.
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Partners noted the benefits of these sessions on their evaluation forms, including one who said, “I had an opportunity to meet with several Outreach Partners and they shared a lot of valuable information and ideas that I will be taking back with me and use to implement in my work as an outreach specialist to underserved communities.”
Staff members from the Philadelphia Department of Health discuss a suicide prevention program for Bhutanese refugees.
A recurring theme of the meeting was the engagement of consumers and their families in research. Several speakers and presentations focused on the importance of including “experts with experience” in the design and development of research.
In a plenary session on suicide prevention in healthcare settings, Ursula Whiteside, PhD returned to this theme when presenting on Now Matters Now, a web-based suicide prevention intervention based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy developed with the input of individuals who have experienced suicidal thoughts. In a large practical trial of adults with serious thoughts of suicide, Now Matters Now and a care management approach will be tested at sites in the NIMH-funded Mental Health Research Network.
On the final morning, the theme of families engaging and driving research was revisited in the session about Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections/ Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANDAS/PANS). Diana Pohlman, Executive Director of the National Partner organization, PANDAS Network, provided an overview about PANDAS and the importance of family involvement in research discoveries for this little-known disorder.
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Throughout the meeting speakers addressed not only the importance of engaging and listening to consumers and families in research, but also how researchers, advocates, and families can work to foster and encourage that engagement to improve clinical research.
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The final session of the meeting provided Partners with information and resources to educate the public about research and study participation. As the majority of trials struggle to recruit participants, it is critical to reach out to broader audiences to engage in research. One new Partner found the session to be useful and plans to "advocate for more of our consumers to participate in research."
Diana Morales, NIMH OPP Director, who introduced the session, detailed the importance of clinical research, the challenges faced in education and recruitment, and the role Partners can play in educating their constituents about studies.
She was followed by Kalene DeHaut, Recruitment and Community Relations Specialist in the NIMH Division of Intramural Research Programs, who described recruitment efforts for NIMH and provided insight into the information participants need and want prior to participating in a trial. She shared examples of how Partners could incorporate clinical trials information into their educational activities.
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The final speaker, University of Maryland - College Park Center for Health Equity Director Stephen Thomas, PhD relayed the need to strengthen the capacity of researchers and community members to work effectively with each other to increase participation in research. He described tools available through the NIH-funded Building Trust Between Minorities and Researchers Initiative, which both support the development of culturally competent researchers and help educate minority communities to be informed decision-makers in the research process.
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Partners are extending the reach of the annual meeting by sharing what they learned with their constituents.
During the meeting a number of Partners shared meeting highlights via social media.
NAMI Maine created a Twitter hashtag #NIMHOPP15 for participants to tag their meeting tweets.
NAMI Arkansas posts a slide from Dr. Insel's presentation on Facebook.
Ursula Whiteside tweets from Linda Rosenberg's keynote presentation.
NAMI New York State tweets from Diana Pohlman's presentation.
Moving ahead, Partners noted on meeting evaluations how they planned to use what they learned at the meeting when they returned to their communities. One Partner noted, “I look forward to this conference each year as I always leave inspired and with new ideas.” Partners indicated plans to start or expand programs in areas featured at the meeting, such as Zero Suicide initiatives, community involvement in research, and reaching out to new communities or using new media.
In the meantime, Partners continue to share meeting highlights:
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NAMI Maryland prepared a meeting summary for its e-newsletter and has shared presentations on its website.
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NAMI New York State and SSG also created meeting summaries for their e-newsletters.
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NAMI Iowa featured a description of PANDAS and Dr. Insel's presentation on its website home page.
Thank you for spreading the word!
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