 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Marianne E Zotti, DrPH, RN and Daniel Bender, MHS. Mississippi State Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office of Personal Health Services, PO Box 1700, Jackson, MS 39215-1700, 601 576-7472, MZotti@msdh.state.ms.us
Background: During 2001, 62 of 82 counties in Mississippi were declared natural disaster areas. Communities, concerned about their children’s mental health symptoms, requested that the faith community assist them by providing Camp Noah, a free one-week day camp for elementary school age children affected by natural disaster. Camp Noah’s goals are to help children process the disaster within a faith-based context, provide a fun environment, and promote community collaboration. The camp promotes processing within a structured environment through activities such as talking about their experiences, play, art projects, and access to a mental health therapist. This paper describes camp implementation, children’s symptoms prior to the camp, and child, parent and staff evaluation results.
Methods: Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, the creators of Camp Noah, trained local faith, community, and public health nursing leaders to conduct the camp in 3 different communities. In the respective communities, a brief community assessment was completed, community partners were identified, children were recruited, and camps were conducted and evaluated. Public health funding helped to support these camps.
Results: There were 101 children statewide who participated in Camp Noah. Children’s camp evaluations were positive. Forty-one percent of the children reported learning spiritual lessons, and 28% reported increased preparedness. Parent, staff and community evaluations were positive. Many children and parents reported a decrease in mental health symptoms following the camp.
Public Health Implications: After a natural disaster, communities and children need the public health and faith communities to partner to assist children in processing their experiences.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Collaboration, Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.