title: An academic-government-faith partnership to build disaster mental health preparedness and community resilience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Faculty and affiliates of the Johns Hopkins Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center partnered with local health departments and faith-based organizations to develop a dual-intervention model of capacity-building for public mental health preparedness and community resilience. Project objectives included (1) determining the feasibility of the tri-partite collaborative concept; (2) designing, delivering, and evaluating psychological first aid (PFA) training and guided preparedness planning (GPP); and (3) documenting preliminary evidence of the sustainability and impact of the model.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated intervention effectiveness by analyzing pre- and post-training changes in participant responses on knowledge-acquisition tests administered to three urban and four rural community cohorts. Changes in percent of correct items and mean total correct items were evaluated. Criteria for model sustainability and impact were, respectively, observations of nonacademic partners engaging in efforts to advance post-project preparedness alliances, and project-attributable changes in preparedness-related practices of local or state governments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority (11 of 14) test items addressing technical or practical PFA content showed significant improvement; we observed comparable testing results for GPP training. Government and faith partners developed ideas and tools for sustaining preparedness activities, and numerous project-driven changes in local and state government policies were documented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that the model could be an effective approach to promoting public health preparedness and community resilience.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Mental Health, Baltimore, MD ; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center, Baltimore, MD ; Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: O Lee
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: McCabe
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center, Baltimore, MD ; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center, Baltimore, MD ; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Natalie L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Semon
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Baltimore, MD ; Loyola University Maryland, Department of Psychology, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lating
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baltimore, MD ; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center, Baltimore, MD ; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: George S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Everly
authors.affiliation: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Kent County Health Department, Chestertown, MD.
authors.forename: Charlene J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: Episcopal Diocese of Easton, Shrewsbury Parish, Easton, MD.
authors.forename: Suzanne Straub
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Office of Community Health, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Adrian M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mosley
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Biostatistics Center, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Carol B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center, Baltimore, MD ; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center, Baltimore, MD ; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Links
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D008396:Maryland; D008603:Mental Health; D017146:Models, Organizational; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D012067:Religion; D014481:United States