Mental Health
COVID Mental Health And Soul Study (CMAS Study)- Baseline Data Thomas V. Joshua PhD* Thomas Joshua Joshua Joshua Joshua Joshua Joshua Joshua Joshua Augusta University
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant gaps in public health response to individual/collective health and emotional/social functioning. Disparities in depression screening are evident. African Americans with depression are less likely to seek treatment, become more disabled, and suffer longer illness course. The overall aim of this study is to train Church Health Workers (CHWs) to screen for depression among COVID-19 survivors in a Black church comparing the effectiveness of Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT; Intervention arm) to individuals as Referral As Usual (RAU; Control arm/Usual Care arm) on treatment engagement for depression.
Methods: A 2-arm, single-blind, mixed-methods Randomized Control Trial among COVID-19 survivors within a Black church is currently ongoing. CHWs screened their fellow church members with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and individuals with depression score ≥ 10 included in the study. Screening of 99 individuals yielded a pool of 8 participants.
Results: 99 subjects were screened and 8 (9.5%) were in moderate and 17 (20.2%) were in mild depression. Descriptive statistics, the mean and standard deviation will be used to describe continuous variables and analyzed at baseline, 3 mos. and 6 mos. after intervention. Simple linear and multiple regression models will be used to estimate the relationship between variables.
Conclusion: We hypothesize that CHWs deployed for church-based depression screening and intervention can help overcome cognitive barriers and increase treatment engagement, defined as attending a depression-related clinical visit for which the subject reports receiving information, referral, counseling, or medication for depression.