Professor Early Presents Research
SNHS professor Jody Early presented her research, “Re-imagining mental health promotion at the grassroots: An evaluation of a culturally responsive lay mental health navigator program in Washington State” at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in November.
Dr. Early is the Principal Investigator and co-director of the community-based program, Mental Health Matters of Washington, which aims to improve mental health promotion and early intervention through culturally responsive health education, community engagement,and resource navigation. The program, established in 2021, has received funding through the Skagit Population Health Trust, North Sound Accountable Communities of Health, Verdant Health Commission, and the Population Health Initiative.
The program provides a Peer Mental Health Navigator (PMHN) program, a bilingual, six-week hybrid training co-facilitated by Early and the MHMWA team, along with licensed, bicultural and bilingual mental health providers. Using a holistic and critical theory approach to mental health, Peer Mental Health Navigators are trained to help strengthen frontline intervention and to connect people to the resources and care they need to flourish.
Over three years, the MHMWA team has trained 182 Peer Mental Health Navigators (ages 13-62) in English and in Spanish. Evaluation results revealed significant improvements in participants’ mental health knowledge, self-efficacy, intentions, and referral/social support behaviors, with large effect sizes ranging from .70 to 96. Additionally, findings from the twelve-month follow up revevaled participants across all three years reported high program satisfaction, sustained program engagement, and application of the training in their daily lives, with the majority (81%) meeting referral and navigation goals.
The study contributes evidence of the promise of lay health models and underscores the need for state and federal investment in community-based approaches that expand mental health support beyond traditional clinical frameworks.