Considerations for Social Needs Screening in a Local Public Health Agency.

CONTEXT: The social determinants of health impact the health outcomes of local public health agency clients. This report shows how the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County (DOH) sought to address this for its clients. PROGRAM: This midstream intervention identified individual DOH client needs and navigated clients to community resources to address these social needs. IMPLEMENTATION: During the 2019 program, 768 DOH clients were screened, with 77% reporting having 1 or more social needs. EVALUATION: Staff and clients identified various challenges clients faced navigating resources on their own, and the value in having resource navigators within the local public health agency. DISCUSSION: Program findings demonstrated alignment with priorities in the Community Health Assessment, leading to engagement of specific partners and planning for population-level policy interventions. Social needs screenings present a unique opportunity for local public health agencies to improve the circumstances of clients and implement health equity approaches in their communities.

Assessing Communicative Resilience in Suicide Prevention for LGBTQ+ Communities: A Qualitative Analysis of Community Conversations.

PURPOSE: Since LGBTQ + communities experience disproportionate rates of suicidality; it is important to identify strategies for suicide prevention. Research shows that supportive interpersonal communication and identity affirmation helps prevent suicide. The purpose of this analysis is to explore the role of communicative resilience in suicide prevention among LGBTQ + communities. APPROACH: This analysis is part of a community-based participatory research project. SETTING: In November 2021, a Community-Academic Partnership hosted a virtual town hall, via Zoom, immediately followed by five Community Conversation (CC) groups. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were aged 18 years or older and identified as an LGBTQ + community member or active ally. We define active ally as an individual who, through their personal relationships, service to the community, or professional work, actively advocates for and supports members of LGBTQ + communities. METHOD: CC groups were audio-recorded and transcribed (n= 25 participants). Transcripts were inductively coded for thematic analysis and identified themes were deductively coded using Communication Theory of Resilience (CTR) to identify observations of communicative resilience (MaxQDA2020). RESULTS: Themes aligned with CTR, including importance of peer and professional support, affirming identities, reducing stigma, cultivating hope, and advocating for equitable policies. CONCLUSION: Findings demonstrate that through communication, members of LGBTQ + communities enact processes of resilience that support and promote suicide prevention. These findings support community mobilization, communicative resilience, and advocacy to help save lives.