Place-Based Variation in Community Behavioral Health

• In Event: 343 - Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Health Disparities

Abstract

This paper shares the results of a national behavioral health project funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA). The project focuses on the use of behavioral health data within US communities. Phase I of the project worked in ten different communities to identify from where community leaders obtained information or data about behavioral health as well as those leaders’ perceptions about behavioral health priorities. Phase II, which will soon be underway, focuses on the use of behavioral health indicators to inform a behavioral health early warning system. The current paper elaborates the findings of Phase I and the usefulness of a locally-based early warning system. (At the time of the ASA annual meeting, Phase II will have been underway for approximately 7 months and findings from the early warning systems will be shared.)

Authors

• Courtney A. Cuthbertson, Michigan State University

• Scott Loveridge, Michigan State University