BACKGROUND: Although schools are often the first institutions to provide recovery efforts for children post-disaster, few studies have involved the school community in research to improve the delivery of these mental health services on campuses. This community-partnered study explores post-disaster counseling services 10 months following Hurricane Katrina. METHODS: In July 2006, nine focus groups, consisting of 39 school-based mental health counselors and six program administrators (10 men, 35 women), were conducted following a 2-day clinical training regarding a youth trauma intervention following Hurricane Katrina. Participants discussed the types of services they had been providing prior to the training and potential barriers to delivering services. RESULTS: Participants identified high mental health needs of students and described populations that did not seem to be adequately supported by current funding sources, including those with pre-existing traumatic experiences and mental health issues, indirect psychological and social consequences of the storms, and those students relocated to communities that were not as affected. Participants also described the need for a centralized information system. CONCLUSIONS: Participants described the need for greater organizational structure that supports school counselors and provides system-level support for services. Implications for next steps of this community-partnered approach are described.
BACKGROUND: Although schools are often the first institutions to provide recovery efforts for children post-disaster, few studies have involved the school community in research to improve the delivery of these mental health services on campuses. This community-partnered study explores post-disaster counseling services 10 months following Hurricane Katrina. METHODS: In July 2006, nine focus groups, consisting of 39 school-based mental health counselors and six program administrators (10 men, 35 women), were conducted following a 2-day clinical training regarding a youth trauma intervention following Hurricane Katrina. Participants discussed the types of services they had been providing prior to the training and potential barriers to delivering services. RESULTS:Participants identified high mental health needs of students and described populations that did not seem to be adequately supported by current funding sources, including those with pre-existing traumatic experiences and mental health issues, indirect psychological and social consequences of the storms, and those students relocated to communities that were not as affected. Participants also described the need for a centralized information system. CONCLUSIONS:Participants described the need for greater organizational structure that supports school counselors and provides system-level support for services. Implications for next steps of this community-partnered approach are described.
Authors: Bradley D Stein; Sheryl Kataoka; Lisa H Jaycox; Marleen Wong; Arlene Fink; Pia Escudero; Catalina Zaragoza Journal: J Behav Health Serv Res Date: 2002-08 Impact factor: 1.505
Authors: Bradley D Stein; Lisa H Jaycox; Sheryl H Kataoka; Marleen Wong; Wenli Tu; Marc N Elliott; Arlene Fink Journal: JAMA Date: 2003-08-06 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Bowen Chung; Arleen Brown; Gerardo Moreno; Pattie Cuen; Visith Uy; Sitaram Vangala; Douglas Bell; A Eugene Washington; Keith C Norris; Carol Mangione Journal: J Health Care Poor Underserved Date: 2016-02
Authors: Elizabeth Lizaola; Ron Schraiber; Joel Braslow; Sheryl Kataoka; Benjamin F Springgate; Kenneth B Wells; Loretta Jones Journal: Ethn Dis Date: 2011 Impact factor: 1.847