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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Luz Santana, MA¹, Dan Rothstein, EdD¹, Margarita Alegria, PhD², and Sarah Train³. (1) The Right Question Project, Inc., 2464 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 314, Cambridge, MA 02140, 617-492-1900, luz@rightquestion.org, (2) Psychiatry--Center for Multicultural MH Research, Harvard Medical School, 120 Beacon St., Somerville, MA 02143, (3) Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research, Cambridge Health Alliance, 120 Beacon St., Somerville, MA 02143

Recommendations to decrease disparities in service use have promoted the development of strategies to enhance engagement and retention in treatment and improve health outcomes for minority people with mental health problems. We report on the development of an intervention that builds on concepts of “patient activation” in the context of chronic disease management and “patient empowerment,” encouraging patients to “take charge” of their health and their interactions with health care professionals. Existing evidence indicates that a patient's active involvement in medical visits is positively related to higher levels of patient satisfaction and adherence to treatment. The specific method for enhancing consumer involvement is to use techniques developed by the Right Question Project (RQP) but tailored to the clinical environment of safety net hospitals. In this presentation, we describe the methodology, procedural approach and materials used in the development of the RQP Intervention for mental health patients. We selected this intervention because it is simple to use, yet potentially powerful for patient empowerment and treatment adherence; it can be used regardless of the education or literacy level of the patient; and it is a low-cost intervention addressing needs of Latino and other minority patients in resource poor settings. We describe the activities and process used to activate and empower patients in medical settings. The intervention has potential for integration in mental health and primary care practices.

Learning Objectives:

• • Identify techniques used by the Right Question Project strategy to empower patients
• • Identify the ways that the RQP strategy is designed to activate patients

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No