New Resource Educates Latinos About MH Issues

It was about a year and a half ago that a producer of culturally sensitive consumer health education materials contacted APA's Annelle Primm, M.D., for help in developing a mental health education tool for Latino individuals.

Primm, director of APA's Office of Minority and National Affairs (OMNA), put the producer in contact with Andres Pumariega, M.D., chair of APA's Committee of Hispanic Psychiatrists.

“The rest is history,” said Pumariega, speaking of the creation of a 59-page consumer health guide and 30-minute companion DVD designed for Latinos. The bilingual package is titled Mental Health: A Guide for Latinos and Their Families—Salud Mental: Una Guia para Latinos y sus Familias.

The guide and DVD were created to educate Latinos about mental illness in their own language and cultural context with the goal of reducing the stigma of mental illness, Pumariega told Psychiatric News. The guide and DVD will be distributed, free of charge, to Latino communities and others who seek it via APA and Latino service organizations.

Pumariega said he believes the guide and DVD package is the first of its kind in terms of national reach “directed toward the general public of a particular racial/ethnic/cultural group around mental illness.” He said it is “also unique in that it combines printed and video psychoeducational material, both presented in a culturally appropriate context.” Indeed, the guide bridges cultural and scientific understanding of mental illness and its treatment by addressing the unique cultural beliefs and attitudes about mental illness in Latino communities (see Know Your Definitions).

Illustrating the cover and the inside pages of the guide are the whimsically abstract and colorful images of Ecuador-born artist Jose Ortega, now of Toronto and New York. It was the guide's designer, Cinda Debbink, of Design Partners in Kensington, Md., who reached out to the well-known artist. Ortega in turn provided the artistic images at a cost significantly below market value, said Carol Brandenburg, project manager/executive producer with Conrad Productions—“as a way to give back to the community.”

The idea for the public service endeavor was the brainchild of Conrad and Associates LLC of Potomac, Md. Conrad and Associates reached out to APA to provide the psychiatric content and collaborated with the National Hispanic Medical Association and the League of United Latin American Citizens. Conrad then sought funding support for production of the video and guidebook and received it from Janssen, a division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.

APA's official seal on the cover of the guide “symbolizes APA's commitment to addressing the special mental health needs and disparities of our diverse populations in America” said Pumariega. Specifically, and no less important, he added, is the fact that APA's Committee of Hispanic Psychiatrists and OMNA had the major involvement in the development of this project. That included the committeewide development, vetting, and editing of the guide's narrative content (including the Spanish translation) and the script featured in the DVD. The DVD features Pumariega along with Ana Campo, M.D., past chair of APA's Committee of Hispanic Psychiatrists.

“The committee thoroughly reviewed the rough cuts of the video and the rough drafts of the guide to ensure scientific accuracy and cultural appropriateness,” Pumariega said. “It involved very active exchanges about these issues with the producer, and the product reflects the careful thought that went into its development and implementation, right down to the visuals and music.”

The committee also developed a dissemination plan in which copies of the guide and DVD will be distributed to APA members, district branches, national medical and Latino organizations, and community clinics and organizations serving Latinos.

“We hope,” Pumariega noted, “that the guide will open doors of understanding about mental illness and help reduce the stigma of mental illness among Latinos—not only consumers and family members, but Latino health professionals and the public at large.

“The largest disparity that we Latinos face around mental health is lack of access to early treatment, often waiting for treatable conditions to grow into acute crises. We want to facilitate Latinos to self-identify mental health needs, seek effective treatment early, and advocate for evidence-based, culturally competent treatment for themselves and their families.”

APA's premiere of the DVD program is scheduled for APA's annual meeting in San Francisco on May 19 at 4:30 p.m. at the Marriott San Francisco Hotel, Golden Gate Hall, Salon C1, Level B2. ▪