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Evaluation ViewAttendees 2

Category: Culture / Ethnicity / Race

Symposium 142 - Sociocultural targets for adapting mental health and substance use interventions among minoritized Hispanic/Latinos

Sunday, November 19, 2023
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Location: Willapa (512), Level 5
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Community-Based, Hispanic American/ Latinx, Mental Health Disparities
Level of Familiarity: Moderate to Advanced
Recommended Readings: Patel, V., Chowdhary, N., Rahman, A., Verdeli, H. (2011). Improving access to psychological treatments: Lessons from developing countries. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 523-528.,   Alegría, M., Nakash, O., & NeMoyer, A. (2018). Increasing equity in access to mental health care: a critical first step in improving service quality. World Psychiatry : official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 17(1), 43–44. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20486,   Nagy, G.A., Cuervo, C., Ramos Rodríguez, E.Y. et al. Building a More Diverse and Inclusive Science: Mindfulness-Based Approaches for Latinx Individuals. Mindfulness 13, 942–954 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01846-2,   ,  

Minoritized individuals in the U.S. have historically been less likely to have access to, and receive high-quality care for, both mental and physical health needs relative to racially majority groups. The goal of this symposium is to present 3 studies that provide insight for intervention scientists developing or adapting interventions that are more inclusive particularly around traumatic reactions, mental health and substance use. This symposium brings together ongoing independent research on heterogeneous groups of Hispanic/Latinx minoritized individuals. A unique feature of this symposium is the description of community driven approaches that include voices of providers and patients/individuals served. All interventions included capacity building around delivery evidence-based approaches.

The first study describes feasibility and acceptability of culturally tailored adaptations to 3 evidence based adjunctive prevention interventions for Latina women who experienced profound traumatic stress. The authors offer their adaptation approach and response from participants. Results indicated Latina immigrants who completed the Bienestar y Esperanza program reported reductions in psychological distress and social isolation, improvements in functioning, and increased willingness to engage in trauma-focused care.

The second study reports initial findings from a large pilot study of TeleFuturo: an integrated hybrid program of technology-based visits and in-person services, to meet the needs of urban, suburban, and rural patients referred from throughout North Carolina. Initial findings indicate a large percentage of participants show clinically significant reductions in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Findings also are discussed in terms of increasing access to minoritized individuals in rural areas to quality behavioral interventions implemented by under-resourced community-based organizations.

The third study tests a model of behavioral health service delivery that involves training community health workers (CHWs) to implement a brief, CBT-based intervention for adults with moderate to severe depression and anxiety symptoms.  We describe the training and supervision model used, the intervention approach and cultural adaptations, and preliminary results with the subset of Latinx participants.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
  • Describe important considerations for building capacity building activities for community mental health promoters.
  • Describe important ingredients in community informed and led approaches for modification and adaptations of evidence based approaches.
  • Describe important recruitment and retention considerations when working with under-resourced populations in rural areas.
  • Describe important research considerations and options when working with patients with limited English proficiency and/or limited literacy.
  • Describe the potential utility of including adjunctive treatment options in community based organizations for individuals on waiting lists.