142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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306959
Mental health literacy and confidence of helping a person with mental health problems among public housing employees

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Hyejin Jung, MSW, PhD Candidate , School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
King Davis, PhD , The Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Background: Despite high needs for mental health care, many public housing clients remain untreated. Untreated mental health problems might result in evictions, suicide, or homicide. Public housing employees can be important resources to help clients with mental health problems to receive mental health care. Yet, little is known about their mental health literacy (MHL) and confidence of helping a person with mental health problems (Confidence). This study examined MHL and Confidence among public housing employees and identified other factors related to their confidence.

Methods: Local public housing employees (N=452) in Texas were invited to participate in a survey. A survey questionnaire contained scales measuring MHL, social distance to a person with mental illness, and Confidence, and included questions about previous experiences with mental health, perceived familiarity with mental illness, and demographics. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors contributing to Confidence and test a relationship between MHL and Confidence.

Results: The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that the relationship between MHL and Confidence was fully mediated by perceived familiarity with mental illness. Frequency of receiving mental health training in the past 12 months was also a significant predictor of Confidence.

Conclusions: Public housing is an important resource for people with lower income and/or disabilities who are at greater risk for mental health problems. Findings highlight the importance of mental health education or training for public housing staff to improve their confidence in helping a person with mental health problems.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe relationships between mental health literacy and confidence. Identify factors contributing to confidence. Discuss implications for mental health education or training to improve confidence among public housing employees.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Social Work. I am the co-principal investigator of the research project that is the subject of this abstract. I have been involved in the study design, data collection, and data analysis of this project.
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.

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