GREETINGS
Diana Morales, Director
NIMH Outreach Partnership Program
It was wonderful to see you at the annual meeting! It’s always the highlight of our year to be able to see the Partners in person, share research updates with you, and hear about the work you are doing in your communities. This issue of Outreach Connection features highlights from the annual meeting, including examples of how a number of Partners have incorporated meeting information into various activities after returning from the meeting. Keep those examples coming! We are in the process of going through the meeting evaluation forms to capture your ideas as we begin thinking about next year’s meeting and planning for other activities throughout the year. Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback!
As we move into the fall months, NIMH will be rolling out a number of updated publications, including several brochures on depression that can be used to support National Depression Screening Day activities in October. In September, NIMH will release a number of resources to mark National Suicide Prevention Month, including updated NIMH webpages on Suicide Prevention and Suicide Statistics and a new suicide prevention fact sheet. We also will join the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s social media efforts to promote the “#BeThe1To” campaign highlighting what each of us can do to help someone in crisis, including a Twitter Chat on September 9 at 1 pm ET to mark World Suicide Prevention Day. We encourage you to check out the resources available for community education and to join us in getting one of the following messages out each week of the month to raise awareness of this important initiative:
- BeThe1To ASK,
- BeThe1To KEEP THEM SAFE,
- BeThe1To BE THERE,
- BeThe1To HELP THEM CONNECT, and
- BeThe1To FOLLOW-UP.
NIMH also will recognize PANDAS/PANS Awareness Day on October 9, which you heard about at the 2015 Outreach Partnership Program annual meeting. Awareness of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) and its related syndrome Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) is growing and we hope you will join us this year to get the word out.
Finally, in case you have not heard the news, we are pleased to report that NIMH has a new director, Dr. Joshua Gordon from Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, who will join the Institute in mid-September. We are looking forward to the Partners having the opportunity to meet him at next year’s annual meeting!
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
In July, representatives from the Outreach and National Partner organizations met on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus for the NIMH OPP 2016 annual meeting to hear updates from NIMH and NIMH-supported researchers and to learn from their fellow Partners. In addition to hearing from Acting Institute Director Dr. Bruce Cuthbert, participants heard research updates on predicting risk for psychosis, preventing suicide, shortening the duration of untreated psychosis, and transforming depression treatments. Partners reported leaving the meeting inspired by the hopeful research developments.
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Addressing Disparities
The meeting featured Partner efforts to address mental health disparities in their communities. A panel led by Dr. Charlene Le Fauve, Deputy Director of the NIMH Office for Research on Disparities and Global Mental Health, discussed approaches to improving access to care through the engagement of communities. Dan Aune, Executive Director of MHA Montana, shared activities to assist tribal communities in developing and implementing sustainable and culturally appropriate mental health care systems, and Stacie Hiramoto, Director of the Racial and Ethnic Mental Health Disparities Coalition at MHA California, described the California Reducing Disparities Project, a statewide initiative to improve access to quality care, and increase positive outcomes for racial, ethnic, and cultural communities.
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In a breakout session, NAMI Maine and NAMI Iowa shared how they are building partnerships and collaborations across multiple sectors to help support justice-involved individuals with serious mental illness. In addition, NAMI Connecticut described a collaboration to develop a Spanish-language curriculum to raise awareness about the impact of domestic violence, trauma, and mental health in Latino communities.
Partner Sharing
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. One Partner noted that during the session "many doors opened" for “potential collaboration and continued communication with these invaluable resources throughout the country.“
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Extending the Reach
Many Partners indicated that the meeting inspired them to find new ways to share NIMH research. In fact numerous attendees used the #NIMHOPP2016 Twitter hashtag to share highlights from the meeting.
NAMI New State tweets about trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.
Ken Norton of NAMI New Hampshire shares about latest research on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Partners continue to share meeting highlights:
Thanks to all the Partners for their contributions to a successful meeting!
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Outreach Partners have been disseminating NIMH materials and research findings throughout their states.
Arizona State University's Center for Applied Behavioral Health collaborated with MHA Arizona to publish a supplement on mental health in the Arizona Republic. NIMH research was incorporated into the stories.
MHA Illinois distributed NIMH pamphlets on suicide and depression at a conference for construction industry executives, geared toward educating employers about suicide and depression among construction workers.
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MHA Louisiana highlighted the availability of NIMH publications at a health fair in an interview with a local news reporter during May is Mental Health Month.
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NAMI Maryland is promoting suicide resources, including NIMH information in observance of National Suicide Prevention Month.
NAMI South Dakota shared a new video about NIMH-funded research findings about mapping the human brain.
MHA of Middle Tennessee is posting NIMH information on LinkedIn.
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Outreach Partners often repurpose NIMH information to include in materials they create for educational efforts in their communities.
Nevada PEP included NIMH statistics about mental health on signs posted at local collaborating organizations on National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day.
NAMI Vermont has incorporated NIMH information in its "Mental Illness and Recovery" workshop curriculum. In addition, NIMH booklets on bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia are distributed in this workshop for peers, their family members, and friends.
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Partners are educating their communities about the importance of research and the research process.
NAMI Iowa’s constituents learned directly about a local study seeking participants at its annual conference. NIMH grantee, Dr. Jacob Michaelson from the University of Iowa, presented about clinical trials the university is involved with generally, including the purpose of the study and eligible participants for a study he is conducting about autism spectrum disorders.
NAMI Ohio informs the public about NIMH-funded clinical trials by incorporating a slide about clinical trials and NIMH into community presentations.
MHA Texas uses Twitter to encourage constituents to learn about NIMH-funded clinical trials.
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Outreach Partners are informing their communities about NIMH-funded trials actively recruiting participants.
To help educate its members about research, NAMI New Jersey created a video interview of a mother sharing her family’s experience participating in an NIMH study.
MHANKSO created a cable show episode with a local researcher to educate the public about clinical research.
MHASEP links to the NIH Clinical Research Trials and You website in the fact sheet it created to educate its constituents about what to expect from participating in clinical research.
The FFSC re-purposed content from the NIMH Clinical Trials webpage in a blog post to educate family members about clinical research.
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