142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Meeting Mental Health Needs in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Oil Spill

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 : 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM

Howard Osofsky, M.D., Ph.D. , Department of Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
This presentation will open this Symposium by first, describing the history, structure and goals of the Mental and Behavioral Heath Capacity Project (MBHCP).   The presenter will then discuss findings from the MBHCP project in Louisiana, which   provides integrated mental and behavioral health in primary care clinics in seven highly impacted parishes designated by the court.  The clinics are in culturally diverse and rural coastal communities with existing disparities in care; four had no behavioral health services; the other three had very limited services.  With stakeholder guidance, MBHCP-LA developed a stepped-care interprofessional model to provide efficient on-site and telemedicine services to adults and children. 

 METHOD:  Since May 2013, evidence-based assessments of 300 adults and 200 children/adolescents were completed  to support behavioral health evaluation and treatment.  Follow-up assessments were completed by the evaluation team at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.  Adult assessments included measures of PTSD, depression, and anxiety; children/adolescents assessments included ADHD, stress/anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder and relational problems. 

 FINDINGS:  Analyses of adult measures show significant reductions in behavioral health symptoms following treatment - accompanied by a decrease in physical health symptoms. Changes in mental health drive changes in health symptoms.  Analyses of children and adolescents measures show similar reductions in symptoms.  Analyses also show high satisfaction and significant increases in resilience (the ability to adapt to change and bounce back after adversity.)

 CONCLUSION:  The MBHCP Integration model appears beneficial in addressing  behavioral and physical health in largely rural communities. Findings are likely to have broader public health implications.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the impact of an integrated care model on the mental health needs following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Evaluate how integrating mental and behavioral health in primary care clinics in areas with disparities of care addresses both mental health and physical health issues. Explain how integrated mental and behavioral health care leads to increased resilience.

Keyword(s): Mental Health System, Community-Based Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As Director of the Mental and Behavioral Health Capacity Project of Louisiana, I play a key role in project coordination, implementation, and research. Evaluation and research of behavioral health care issues has been an ongoing initiative of mine. I have been working with the MBHCP-LA project since its inception and will continue to work to ensure its efficacy of integrating community based mental and behavioral health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.