Lessons Learned: A “Homeless Shelter Intervention” by a Medical Student

Objective The authors explored the process of implementing a medical student-initiated program designed to provide computerized mental health screening, referral, and education in a homeless shelter. Methods An educational program was designed to teach homeless shelter staff about psychiatric disord...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Academic psychiatry 2012-05, Vol.36 (3), p.219-222
Main Authors: Owusu, Yasmin, Kunik, Mark, Coverdale, John, Shah, Asim, Primm, Annelle, Harris, Toi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alliances
Behavior
Brief Report
Community Relations
Community-Institutional Relations
Computer literacy
Computer Uses in Education
Design
Educational Benefits
Educational Strategies
Educational Technology
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health Services
Healthcare Disparities
Homeless People
Homeless Persons - psychology
Housing
Humans
Initiatives
Intervention
Learning
Mass Screening - methods
Medical Education
Medical screening
Medical Students
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental Disorders
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Mental Health
Mental Health Programs
Mental Health Services
Outcome Measures
Outreach Programs
Physical Health
Physicians
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Pretests Posttests
Program Design
Program Effectiveness
Psychiatry
Questionnaires
Referral
Referral and Consultation
Screening Tests
Shelters
Students, Medical
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teaching Methods
Test Items
Volunteers
Volunteers - education
Workshops
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Summary:Objective The authors explored the process of implementing a medical student-initiated program designed to provide computerized mental health screening, referral, and education in a homeless shelter. Methods An educational program was designed to teach homeless shelter staff about psychiatric disorders and culturally-informed treatment strategies. Pre- and post-questionnaires were obtained in conjunction with the educational program involving seven volunteer shelter staff. A computerized mental health screening tool, Quick Psycho-Diagnostics Panel (QPD), was utilized to screen for the presence of nine psychiatric disorders in 19 volunteer homeless shelter residents. Results Shelter staffs’ overall fund of knowledge improved by an average of 23% on the basis of pre- /post- questionnaires (p=0.005). Of the individuals who participated in the mental health screening, 68% screened positive for at least one psychiatric disorder and were referred for further mental health care. At the 3- month follow-up of these individuals, 46% of those referred had accessed their referral services as recommended. Conclusion Medical student-initiated psychiatric outreach programs to the homeless community have the potential to reduce mental health disparities by both increasing access to mental health services and by providing education. The authors discuss educational challenges and benefits for the medical students involved in this project.
ISSN:1042-9670
1545-7230
DOI:10.1176/appi.ap.10040055