Dr. Jannette Berkley-Patton’s research article, “Engaging the Faith Community in Designing a Church-Based Mental Health Screening and Linkage to Care Intervention”, was recently featured in the Coalition of Metropolitan and Urban Universities Metropolitan Universities Journal. The article looks at the results of a health needs assessment survey that was designed to create faith-based mental health intervention strategies and identify health concerns.

Key findings from the study indicated that offering classes on how to strengthen family relationships and communication, linking uninsured persons to low-cost health insurance and free health services, and providing free health screenings and risk assessments were some of the top strategies for reducing health disparities. 

The article discusses the design and launch of the Healthy Actions to Improve Mind and Spirit (AIMS) program, which was piloted in four Kansas City, Missouri urban churches, and primarily focused on increasing mental health screenings among African American church-community members.

To read the full research article, click HERE.

Dr. Jannette Berkley-Patton is a professor at the UMKC School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, and has a research focus on health education, prevention, screening, and care support in African American churches and Jamaica.

UMKC is an active member of The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), publisher of the Metropolitan Universities Journal. CUMU is an international affiliate organization of universities located in urban and metropolitan areas that share common understandings of their institutional missions and values. CUMU dedicates itself to the creation and dissemination of knowledge on issues facing the communities member universities serve.