RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Latinx immigrant-origin youth (IOY) have unique risks for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It has been suggested that these risks should be addressed from an ecological perspective, addressing cultural and family context as well as structural and systemic barriers to prevention. This study sought to explore perspectives of immigrant-origin Latinx adolescents and their caregivers on suicide and its prevention, including the potential impact of stressors specific to immigrant status. METHOD: Focus groups were conducted in 2018-2019 with Latinx immigrant-origin caregivers (N = 41, 97.5% female) and adolescents (ages = 14-19, N = 56, 50% female). Participants were recruited from community-based organizations in two different cities. A codebook approach to thematic analysis was used to identify themes, which were subsequently mapped onto levels of the Center for Disease Control's Social-Ecological Framework for Violence Prevention. RESULTS: Participants identified both contributors to suicidal behavior and potential components of prevention programming across ecological levels. Specific recommendations for suicide prevention included engaging in recreation, parenting education and support, enhancing academic supports for adolescents, and enhancing school-family communication. Structural barriers (e.g., caregiver work schedules) to implementing recommendations were described. DISCUSSION: Our results highlight the potential role of access to school and community-based supports as public health-oriented suicide prevention strategies and suggest a need to address barriers faced by immigrant families in accessing these supports alongside addressing barriers to mental health treatment. Policies impacting immigrant families' financial stability and increasing the availability of recreational and academic opportunities may promote mental health and prevent suicidal thoughts and behavior among IOY. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
RESUMEN
Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO)-based telementoring was evaluated for disseminating early disaster interventions, Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR), to school professionals throughout rural, disaster-affected communities further affected by COVID-19. PFA and SPR complemented their Multitiered System of Support: PFA complemented tier 1 (universal) and SPR tier 2 (targeted) prevention. We evaluated the outcomes of a pretraining webinar (164 participants, January 2021) and four-part PFA training (84 participants, June 2021) and SPR training (59 participants, July 2021) across five levels of Moore's continuing medical education evaluation framework: (1) participation, (2) satisfaction, (3) learning, (4) competence, and (5) performance, using pre-, post-, and 1-month follow-up surveys. Positive training outcomes were observed across all five levels, with high participation and satisfaction throughout, and high use at the 1-month follow-up. ECHO-based telementoring may successfully engage and train community providers in these underused early disaster response models. Recommendations regarding training format and using evaluation to improve training are provided.
