Black Faculty and Staff Association: MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

Erica Coates, Ph.D., Dionne Coker-Appiah, Ph.D, and Denisha Carter, Psy.D. received an International Collaborative Grant from the Office of the Vice President for Global Engagement to conduct research and host a workshop on mental health stigma in Ghana. The proposed project is a collaboration between MedStar Georgetown University Hospital faculty and Africa’s Mental Health Matters (AMHM) – Ghana. We will engage in a collaborative process to (a) conduct semi-structured individual interviews, with 15 Ghanaians experiencing mental health difficulties, to inform the development of a workshop designed to address mental health stigma in Ghana; (b) co-create a grant-seeking plan to sustain our collaboration; and (c) host a workshop in Accra, Ghana designed to de-stigmatize mental health services utilization.

Dionne S. Coker-Appiah, PhD, Erica Coates, PhD, Denisha Carter, Psy.D., LaTasha Seliby Perkins, MD (Family Medicine), and Corinne Holdbrook (Africa's Mental Health Matters-Ghana), received a Collaborative Research Grant funded by The Georgetown University Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues (CGCI) entitled: Youth Mental Health Matters: A Community-Based Exploration of Mental Health in Ghana. This project will support a collaboration with key community partners from Accra, Ghana who all have youth mental health expertise, in an effort to begin to develop a community-based, culturally-appropriate exploration of youth mental health needs and assets in Accra, Ghana. The goals are to (a) build a youth-focused community-academic partnership that will guide the exploration; (b) host a seminar designed to explore youth mental health among key community and academic stakeholders; (c) complete community site visits and host a youth-focused community forum that will provide additional knowledge and insight about youth mental health needs and assets; and (d) collaboratively develop a Research and Outreach Plan that will enable the transition of our work from the exploration and planning phase to a research and outreach phase.

Flavia DeSouza, MD, along with Kimberley Ho Misiaszek, PhD at University of Miami, are working on a public facing project that aims to demystify, elucidate, discuss and provide guidance on mental health issues faced by members of the Caribbean diaspora. We will explore issues related to migration (acculturative stress and dealing with it), navigating systems when one has mental health issues, how systems impact understanding of mental health issues/concerns, specific mental health issues (depression, schizophrenia, etc.) and how it might manifest in ourselves and impact our relationships, guidance around ways of thinking and tools that might exist. We are looking for individuals who identify in some way with the diaspora that we can interview. If you or anyone you know is interested in participating in this project, please contact flavia.desouza@medstar.net.

Keri Kirk, PhD along with Bill Gallagher, MD, received the MedStar Health Wellness Champion Grant to support wellness activities for residents, staff, and faculty at Ft. Lincoln Family Medicine Clinic. The funds are matched by the Department of Family Medicine.