The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #67517

Lisa R. Fortuna, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital/Center for Child & Adolescent Health Policy, Harvard University, 50 Staniford Street, Suite 901, Boston, MA 02114, 617-724-4098, LFortuna@partners.org

The systems and models of mental health services currently in place in the United States fails to provide for the vast majority of Latinos in need of care. Latino youth who are incarcerated, use excessive amounts of alcohol or drugs, and those exposed to violence, such as Central American refugees, are most likely to be in need of mental health care. These vulnerable groups are also among the most underserved. There are many ways to improve services for Latinos, from reducing systemic barriers—especially financial barriers—to increasing the number of mental health professionals who are linguistically and culturally skilled. This presentation focuses on how community based organizations (CBO’s), young people, bicultural and bilingual clinicians and research institutions can form important collaborations towards the development of alternative models of mental health care delivery. We will use examples from our current work with recent immigrant and gang involved young people.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Identify and develop collaboration opportunities within the community aimed at addressing mental health care for Latino young people.
• 2. Discuss a mental health intervention model for combining the expertise and participation of CBO’s, community, youth, clinicians, and researchers.
• 3. Articulate the role of participatory research methods in designing and evaluating mental health interventions with immigrant Latino young people.

Keywords: Adult and Child Mental Health, Public Health Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.