UAMS gets grant to study depression in Delta

A five-year, $2.1 million federal grant will help UAMS work with 24 churches in the Delta to study how to address depression among rural African-Americans, UAMS announced Thursday.

The grant from the National Institute of Mental Health will allow researchers to test a depression education treatment program, as well as strategies to sustain the program financially when the funding expires.

The eight-session program, which will be administered by church leaders, focuses on using prevention to help patients who have depressive symptoms but do not yet suffer from depression. Those subjects with depression or another mental illness will be pointed toward a mental health professional. Sessions include faith-based themes.

The research team is led by Tiffany Haynes, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, and Karen Yeary, Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Public Health who has worked with Delta faith leaders over the past 10 years.

“We’ve partnered with churches to address physical health issues in the past, but this is the first time we’ve addressed emotional well-being,” Yeary said in a press release.

The Rev. Jerome Turner of Marvell, a co-investigator who pastors two Phillips County churches, said UAMS has developed trust with rural African-American churches.

“UAMS has incorporated community at all levels of decision making, so the community knows that its voice is being heard,” he said in the release. “I believe we will have very good results at the conclusion of this study because we are serious about the issue and we work extremely well as a team.”

Haynes said rural African-Americans are disproportionately affected by poverty and discrimination, putting them at higher risk for depression. Having depressive symptoms can lead to chronic illnesses, poor social functioning and poor job performance, she said. Although there are effective treatments, rural African-Americans often do not receive care.

“Concerns about the mental health of rural African-Americans have been raised before, but this was the first time anyone has documented that concern and taken this unique approach,” Haynes said in the release.