July 16, 2024
Exploring the impact of social policies on mental health of BIPOC, LGBTQ+ communities
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a wave of mental health crises, marked by heightened anxiety, depression and increased rates of suicide. These adverse mental health outcomes have disproportionately affected Queer (LGBTQ+), disabled and Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities, underscoring the need to investigate the upstream causes behind these concerning trends.
In spring 2023, a group of co-investigators, including community experts and researchers at the University of Washington, were awarded a Tier 1 Population Health Initiative pilot grant to explore this connection between state-level policies and mental health. The interdisciplinary team, composed of three community experts in peer mental health services, and students and faculty from the School of Public Health and the School of Social Work, is investigating the influence of state-level social policies on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities and peer-led community health organizations who serve them. These policies, spanning government actions, regulations and programs in areas such as healthcare, education, housing, employment and social services, play a crucial role in shaping positive mental health outcomes.
“What informs our health outcomes is our environment, and part of that environment is policy,” explained Zeruiah Buchanan, a project collaborator and PhD student in the School of Public Health. “That’s something that is less often talked about in the context of mental health. So, we thought it was important to bring policy into the conversation surrounding mental health liberation.”
This project team also comprised three leaders in peer community-based mental health services; Adanze Okoronta, Tim Saubers and Jess Stohlmann-Rainey. According to Sarah F. Porter, a team member and doctoral student at the School of Social Work, peer-led mental health organizations are “…led by people with direct lived experiences with mental illness and/or substance use.” They offer “support, advocacy and services tailored to individuals’ goals of health and healing, based on shared experiences rather than clinical intervention,” continued Porter.
The research project began with iterative surveys with peer-based community mental health organizations. Using a modified Delphi process, 30 peer mental health workers from five states provided feedback on social policies affecting the mental health of their communities.
“The Delphi method is a qualitative process. We employed four rounds of this surveying technique and as the rounds progressed, we got more and more focused with our questions,” explained epidemiology doctoral candidate, Anne Massey.
“The idea was to try to bring in as many voices to this prioritization process. Research hasn’t always involved the community, so this was done to really elevate the voices of people working in these fields,” added Megan Moore, an associate professor in the School of Social Work.
The primary objective of this process was to achieve consensus on the most significant social policy area(s) influencing the mental health of structurally marginalized communities. This identified domain would then be used to create a community responsive policy resource specifically tailored to address the needs of peer-run community health organizations.
“This resource will be a physical, tangible tool that [leaders from peer-based community mental health organizations] can use after the completion of this research,” said Porter. “The overarching goal is to create a comprehensive, navigable resource that supports community mental health organizations and, thus, furthers mental health wellness for structurally marginalized communities,” continued Porter.
Though the initial emergency phase of COVID-19 has passed, the pandemic and its impacts are ongoing. “COVID-19 fundamentally changed the fabric of people’s lives. We watched millions of people die on a mass scale, people lost their families and social systems were disrupted. We watched structures that have, for a long time, consistently under-addressed the needs of communities truly collapse,” emphasized Adanze Okoronta, a co-investigator on this project and the director of Solstice House, a peer-run respite in Wisconsin.
“The pandemic really externalized all these stressors around mental and behavioral health in very visible ways,” shared Porter. “However, by identifying the socioeconomic and political systems that perpetuate poor mental health for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities and creating a resource that supports these populations, this project aspires to cultivate a world that furthers mental health liberation for all people through the implementation of key policy supports.”
Researchers and collaborators for this project include: Avanti Adhia (assistant professor, School of Nursing), Zeruiah Buchanan (doctoral student, School of Public Health), Kelsey Conrick (doctoral candidate, School of Social Work), Anne Massey (doctoral candidate, School of Public Health), Megan Moore (associate professor, School of Social Work), Adanze Okoronta (peer services program executive director, Solstice House), Sarah F. Porter (doctoral student, School of Social Work), Taylor Riley (doctoral candidate, School of Public Health), Tim Saubers (executive director, National Association of Peer Supporters) and Jess Stohlmann-Rainey (director, Much Madness LLC.).