title: Building a national model of public mental health preparedness and community resilience: validation of a dual-intervention, systems-based approach.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Working within a series of partnerships among an academic health center, local health departments (LHDs), and faith-based organizations (FBOs), we validated companion interventions to address community mental health planning and response challenges in public health emergency preparedness.
  
  
  METHODS
  We implemented the project within the framework of an enhanced logic model and employed a multi-cohort, pre-test/post-test design to assess the outcomes of 1-day workshops in psychological first aid (PFA) and guided preparedness planning (GPP). The workshops were delivered to urban and rural communities in eastern and midwestern regions of the United States. Intervention effectiveness was based on changes in relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) and on several behavioral indexes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant improvements were observed in self-reported and objectively measured KSAs across all cohorts. Additionally, GPP teams proved capable of producing quality drafts of basic community disaster plans in 1 day, and PFA trainees confirmed upon follow-up that their training proved useful in real-world trauma contexts. We documented examples of policy and practice changes at the levels of local and state health departments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given appropriate guidance, LHDs and FBOs can implement an effective and potentially scalable model for promoting disaster mental health preparedness and community resilience, with implications for positive translational impact.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Mental Health and the Center for Public Health Preparedness,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,Baltimore,Maryland.
authors.forename: O Lee
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: McCabe
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Environmental Health Sciences,Center for Public Health Preparedness,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,Baltimore,Maryland.
authors.forename: Natalie L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Semon
authors.affiliation: 3Johns Hopkins Biostatistics Center,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,Baltimore,Maryland.
authors.forename: Carol B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: 4Loyola University Maryland,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,Baltimore,Maryland.
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lating
authors.affiliation: 5Center for Public Health Preparedness,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,Baltimore,Maryland.
authors.forename: George S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Everly
authors.affiliation: 6Kent County Health Department,Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene,Chestertown,Maryland.
authors.forename: Charlene J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: 7Shrewsbury Parish,Episcopal Diocese of Easton,Maryland.
authors.forename: Suzanne Straub
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: 8Office of Community Health,Johns Hopkins Health System,Baltimore,Maryland.
authors.forename: Adrian M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mosley
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Environmental Health Sciences,Center for Public Health Preparedness,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,Baltimore,Maryland.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Links
mesh_terms: D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D004189:Disaster Planning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D014481:United States
keywords: psychological